Mariners manager Scott Servais had but modest ambitions for James Paxton, making his first start in nearly a month.
“My expectations are very tempered by the fact that I don’t expect him to go out there and shut somebody out, give up two hits and punch out eight or 10,” Servais said before the game.
OK, those were the expectations.
But these were the results: three hits, six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in the Mariners’ 5-0 win Wednesday against the Rockies. That’s four straight wins for the Mariners, including three straight against the first-place Rockies, but this was as much about Paxton as the result.