Mariners ride Big Maple’s huge start to massive win

SEATTLE, WA - JULY 24: James Paxton
SEATTLE, WA - JULY 24: James Paxton /
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The Mariners needed a win in game one of a critical series with the Boston Red Sox. They needed to go out and make a statement that reassured the fans being buyers this trade season is the right move. That statement was turned into an exclamation by James Paxton.

He tossed 7 scoreless innings of four-hit ball, notching ten strikeouts. The Mariners backed him with four early runs off of the Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, and sent the fans home happy with a big 4-0 victory.

Kyle Seager started the scoring for the Mariners in the second inning with a 415-foot blast to straightaway center field. After starting off 2017 very cold, he has tallied half of his 14 homers in the past month.

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Next to the party was Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia. Gamel first with a stand up triple, then beating the throw to the plate on a Heredia grounder. Jean Segura followed two batters later, breaking an 0-for-15 slump with an RBI double to give James Paxton an ample cushion.

The final knock for Seattle was a Danny Valencia double in the fourth that brought Gamel across for the second time on the night.

The Red Sox would barely muster any threats over the course of the game, with the one exception being the seventh inning, when they put runners on the corners with no outs, but a timely K from Paxton followed by an inning-ending double play eliminated the threat and preserved his scoreless outing.

Nick Vincent tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, and Diaz did the same with two strikeouts in the ninth. The M’s definitely got the statement they needed.

Next: Mariners aren't trading Kyle Lewis, at least yet

With the victory and losses by Tampa Bay and Minnesota, the Mariners will make up a little ground on the two teams in between them and the two wild card leaders. At 50-51, this team isn’t out of it, and two more wins against a struggling Boston could be key to building momentum for the rest of 2017.