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Pineda rolls on as Mariners top Tigers

With rookie Michael Pineda throwing smoke and the middle of their batting order suddenly on fire, the Mariners pulled off a rare series road sweep at Comerica Park with a 7-2 victory Thursday.

Pineda opened more eyes with his fifth straight quality start, holding the Tigers to four hits over six innings while improving to 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA in his fledgling career. where to buy cheap MLB Jerseys?ujersy is a good choice.

More surprising was the offensive support for Pineda and his fellow Mariners hurlers, as Miguel Olivo and Justin Smoak continued their recent surge from the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in manager Eric Wedge's lineup.

It added up to the Mariners' first road sweep since April 10-12, 2009 at Oakland, and their first sweep at Comerica Park since 2003. Seattle has won seven of its past 11 games to climb back to 11-15 heading into a three-game set at Boston.

Olivo slugged his second home run of the series -- this one a legitimate poke over the left-field fence -- and went 2-for-5 from his newfound cleanup role. But he was once again more impressed with Pineda, after the big youngster struck out a career-high nine and gave up only a pair of runs in the second inning.

"He's unbelievable," Olivo said. "He's one of the top pitchers in the league right now."

Tigers catcher Alex Avila was equally impressed from the opposite side, even after hitting the two-run double that wound up being Pineda's lone problem.

"The guy was nasty," said Avila. "Anywhere from 94-99 mph with the fastball, he's got a slider, a split-finger. Just a nasty, nasty guy. And he threw strikes. That's the biggest thing. A lot of guys have command issues, but he was able to throw strikes with all three [pitches]. He's pretty good."

Even Pineda seems taken aback by his immediate success. The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder became the first Mariners rookie to win four games in April while also extending his franchise record to five straight quality starts to open his career.

"I'm a little surprised," said the Dominican native, who is just learning English along with the Major League routine. "It's pretty good. I'm 22 years old and four wins in the big leagues. But I'm working for this. I'm working all the time to be a great pitcher on the mound."

The Mariners' turnaround has been fueled by an improved offense, which racked up 12 hits, their fourth double-digit total in the past five games. recommend directory: Mike Schmidt #20 Philadelphia Phillies throwback blue MLB Jersey.

A three-run home run by utility infielder Luis Rodriguez ended any drama in the eighth, and the offense has also been aided considerably by better production in the middle of the order from Smoak and Olivo.

Smoak laced a run-scoring double in the fourth inning and has gone 4-for-11 with eight RBIs and two home runs in three games back since the death of his father. He now has at least one hit in each of his last 10 starts, though his string of three straight games with a home run against the Tigers ended Thursday.

Olivo went 7-for-13 in the series with his first two home runs, raising his average from .176 to .230 in the three-day span.

"In baseball, you need to just wait for your time," said the veteran catcher. "Everybody has trouble, then you get a little hot and try to keep it that way. I just need to do what I'm doing right now."

Wedge laughed when asked if he'll keep Olivo in the No. 4 spot for a while.

"Yeah, he's done a pretty good job in that role," said Wedge, who believes the entire offense is emerging from its early struggles.

"They're moving in the right direction," he said. "It just doesn't happen overnight. There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes with these guys. You baby step in the right direction, you put up better at-bats, make more productive outs and then you start to see some results. And that's what I think you're seeing."

Meanwhile, Pineda imposed his will from the outset, striking out the side in the first inning on a series of 95-97 mph fastballs despite the chilly, 49-degree weather at Comerica Park, then finishing off the frame with a wicked slider that got Magglio Ordonez swinging.

But after making it four straight strikeouts with a tough nine-pitch whiff of Miguel Cabrera to start the second, Pineda ran into trouble as lefties Brennan Boesch and Avila both doubled, Avila's shot to right driving in a pair of runs.

Pineda walked two in the that inning while throwing 30 pitches, but steadied himself after that and wound up going six innings before being lifted at 101 pitches.

"The thing that was most impressive to me is he was around the plate pretty good," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "His control's pretty good, and for a big arm like that, throwing that hard, sometimes it's hard to control it. That was pretty impressive."

David Pauley and Jamey Wright then finished things off with three scoreless innings of relief. Those two veterans have been impressive on their own, Pauley lowering his ERA to 1.10 and Wright to 0.79. recommend directory: Harold Baines #3 Chicago White Sox throwback MLB Jersey.

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