Kuma’s gem helps Mariners close in on Tigers

SEATTLE — The Mariners used seven scoreless innings from Hisashi Iwakuma and the powerful duo of newly acquired setup man Arquimedes Caminero and rookie closer Edwin Diaz to complete a 3-0 shutout of the Tigers in Monday night’s series opener at Safeco Field.

“Last time we were in Detroit, they got us pretty well,” Iwakuma said. “So it was payback time for myself and for the team as well.”

The win was the Mariners’ fourth in a row and brought them within 2 1/2 games of the Tigers in the race for the second American League Wild Card spot.

The Mariners, who rank third in the Major Leagues with 156 home runs, scored all their runs without any dingers. In the second inning they strung together three base hits and a walk to score two runs. Then in the eighth, they used a double by Norichika Aoki and an RBI single by Guillermo Heredia to provide some insurance.

“Nice to get the add-on run late,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We haven’t done that often this year.”

Iwakuma turned in at least seven scoreless innings for the third time this season, scattering five hits while striking out a season-high-tying eight and walking one. Caminero, who was acquired on Sunday in a trade with the Pirates, took over to start the eighth and hit 101 mph with his fastball while delivering a 1-2-3 inning in his Mariners debut. Diaz, who officially took over the closer’s role last week, retired the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save.

Tigers starter Michael Fulmer nearly matched Iwakuma. He only allowed the two second-inning runs, giving up five hits while striking out six over seven innings. But without …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com