Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker turned in a dominant performance for Triple-A Tacoma Tuesday. The right-hander threw his first complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and one walk, while striking out eight.
It was the second time in his career he pitched a complete game.
"I've had games where I've had better stuff, but my curveball was the best it's been in a long time," Walker said, per MLB.com. "I was throwing it for first-pitch strikes a lot. I was bouncing it when I needed to for strikeouts. Getting ground balls with it.
"But other than that, my fastball was good. I used my fastball a lot. And I just kind of pitched to contact and got the strikeouts when I needed them."
Walker lowered his ERA from 5.82 to 4.11. He rebounded in a big way after giving up seven runs (six earned) in his previous outing.
"It definitely helps after coming off last game," Walker said. "I only went five and kind of struggled the last game. Having this game right here after that, it definitely helps, definitely kind of shows that I can put that game behind me, bust my butt for the four days and then come out here and turn it around for the next start."