SEATTLE — The Big Maple is back and what a lift! It’s like he never left.
James Paxton returned Wednesday from four weeks on the disabled list and pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners stretched their winning streak to four games with a 5-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Safeco Field.
“It’s like he didn’t miss a beat,” catcher Mike Zunino said. “His fastball location was great. The ball was coming out good (before the game) in the pen, but when he came out throwing 96, 98 (mph), I was impressed.”
Danny Valencia’s two-run double highlighted a three-run second inning against Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela, which provided all the support necessary for Paxton and three relievers.
“Dominant starting pitching does so much for your team,” manager Scott Servais said. “It just lifts everybody’s spirits. Guys, offensively, relax and have good at-bats.”
Paxton (4-0) retired 16 of the first 17 batters before exiting to loud cheers after yielding successive one-out singles in the sixth inning. He struck out six and walked none in throwing 56 of 72 pitches for strikes.
“Healthy,” Paxton said, as economical with his words as he was with his pitches. “Felt great. It’s good to be back out there. I felt pretty good all the way through.”
Paxton said he didn’t feel fatigued in the sixth but noted, “I think they just didn’t want me to pitch too many stressful pitches there with guys on base.”
Steve Cishek ended the sixth-inning threat by inducing two popups, which left Paxton with a clean line that lowered his ERA to 1.26. Cishek then worked a one-two-three seventh inning.
James Pazos worked around an error in the eighth inning before Nick Vincent closed out a four-hit shutout. Senzatela gave up four runs in five innings and suffered just his second loss in nine decisions.
But Paxton was the story.
“Before he got hurt,” Servais said, “you could see a different guy out there. Confidence was growing. He’s turned into a top-of-the-rotation stud. It’s great for our club. Everybody felt it tonight when he took the mound.”
Paxton was diagnosed with strained forearm muscle after a May 2 start against the Los Angeles Angels. Even with his return, the Mariners still have three of their five projected starting pitchers on the disabled list.
Club officials are hoping Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly might all return to active duty at some point in June.
“I can’t say enough about what it means to have Paxton back,” Servais said. “He gave us more tonight than I think we expected having not pitched in about a month.”
The Mariners, as they did Tuesday, struck for three runs in the second inning.
Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager opened the inning with singles and moved to second and third on a wild pitch before Valencia split the right-center gap with a two-run double.
Valencia scored on Mike Zunino’s two-out double into the left-field corner.
The Mariners added another run in the fifth after Jarrod Dyson led off with a walk and moved to second on a balk after seven pickoff attempts. Ben Gamel delivered an RBI single later in the inning.
Gamel had a sacrifice fly in seventh inning that stretched the lead to 5-0.
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