Mariners Pineda dominates for first MLB win

Mariners phenom overwhelms Blue Jays in home debut.

By Greg Johns / MLB.com |

SEATTLE — Massive rookie right-hander Michael Pineda provided the heat on a crisp Tuesday night at Safeco Field, blowing down the Blue Jays, 3-2, for his first Major League victory.

The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic lit up the radar gun in his home debut, consistently throwing fastballs in the 96-98-mph range while handcuffing a Blue Jays squad that has lost five of its past six games.

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Pineda gave up just five hits and two runs (one earned) in 7 1/3 innings, shutting out the Blue Jays until the eighth and finishing with two walks and seven strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.70 after two starts.

Seattle preserved Pineda’s win with an inning-ending double play in the eighth, when first baseman Justin Smoak caught a foul ball down the line and then threw out Corey Patterson trying to score the tying run from third.

The Mariners managed three early runs off the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter, Ricky Romero, which was enough to get the Mariners to 4-7 after snapping a seven-game skid a night earlier.

Pineda allowed only one runner to second base in his first seven innings before giving up a single and a walk with one out in the eighth. A passed ball put both runners in scoring position, and they crossed the plate on Patterson’s two-run single to right.

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