SEATTLE — Did Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais signal another change in bullpen roles Monday when he summoned Steve Johnson to replace starter Nathan Karns in the seventh inning?
There were two outs, and San Diego had the tying run at the plate. It was Johnson’s first hold/save situation in 10 outings since his May 3 promotion from Triple-A Tacoma.
“I think he’s earned it,” Servais said. “He’s been very good, going after righties and lefties. I thought it was a good matchup for him there.”
Johnson responded by striking out Wil Myers for his 15th strikeout in 111/3 innings. Joaquin Benoit replaced Johnson to start the eighth inning, and the Mariners later turned a close game into a 9-3 rout.
“Obviously, I haven’t been in too many of those situations,” Johnson said, “but I just try to come in and do what I’ve been doing. Stay on a roll.”
And he has been on a roll.
Johnson has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances, which covers 101/3 innings. Overall, his ERA is down to 0.79.
“I’m just throwing my fastball,” he said, “and it’s been able to get by guys. I’m mixing it up and changing speeds when I need to. I’m just trying to throw a bunch of strikes in there. Right now, they seem to be swinging and missing a lot.”
The Mariners, under ideal circumstances, likely would have used Nick Vincent to replace Karns in the seventh inning, but Vincent threw 49 pitches in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.
So Servais went to Johnson instead of veteran Joel Peralta, who has struggled in recent games, particularly against right-handed hitters. Peralta pitched the ninth inning after the Mariners built their lead to seven runs.
Either Johnson or Peralta projects as the odd-man out when Mariners need to clear space in their bullpen for either Tony Zych, who is on the disabled list, or Edwin Diaz, whose development is being fast-tracked at Double-A Jackson.
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