"I would say that's his best outing to date," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He had everything working, his tempo was outstanding and he was commanding all four pitches. When you're a power guy like that and all four pitches are working and you're able to throw any for a strike when you want to, it's going to be a long night for the opponent. And 96-97 [mph on the fastball] doesn't hurt either."
The Mariners badly needed a strong outing -- for Walker, their bullpen and their recently struggling rotation. Seattle's starters were 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA over the previous six games, but the young right-hander reversed that trend in impressive fashion and halted the Mariners' four-game losing streak.