SEATTLE (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered, George Kirby tossed 6 1/3 crisp innings and the Seattle Mariners shut out the punchless Pirates for the third straight game, winning 1-0 on Sunday as Pittsburgh wasted another strong start by All-Star Paul Skenes.
Arozarena hit his 14th longball of the season and sixth in seven games when he turned on a low fastball in the sixth inning from reliever Carmen Mlodzinski (2-6).
Skenes had a short but effective outing, striking out 10 and allowing five hits in five innings. He threw 52 of his 78 pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA to 1.94 but is just 4-7 this season.
Pittsburgh was beaten 6-0 on Friday and 1-0 on Saturday during its scoreless weekend in Seattle. Before making the trip, the Pirates blanked St. Louis three straight times at home. The streak of playing in six straight shutouts is tied for the longest in major league history.
Kirby (3-4) struck out nine, allowed four singles and walked none.
Andres Muñoz, named an AL All-Star on Sunday, worked the ninth for his 21st save, which is one shy of his career high.
Key moment
The Mariners came close to taking a 1-0 lead in the first on a single by Jorge Polanco, but Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz made a 105.2 mph throw to nab Seattle’s J.P. Crawford at the plate. It was the second-hardest thrown ball to produce an outfield assist since Statcast started tracking in 2015.
Key stat
Polanco’s hit was the 1,000th of his career.
Up next
Pirates: Left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-7, 4.16 ERA) starts Monday night at Kansas City.
Mariners: Right-hander Logan Gilbert (2-2, 3.40) is scheduled to start Tuesday at the New York Yankees.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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