Munoz (4-7) didn't allow a baserunner in one-third of an inning and earned the win Thursday over the Rangers.
Munoz got the last out of the ninth inning, and the Mariners rallied for a walk-off victory. He hadn't earned a save or a result in two weeks, allowing one run across four innings over his last four appearances. Munoz has a 2.81 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 65:21 K:BB through 48 innings this year while adding 13 saves and 14 holds in 51 appearances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Grabs 13th save
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Munoz picked up the save in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over the Angels. He allowed one hit while striking out two in a scoreless inning.
Munoz struck out a pair of Angels, reaching 101.9 mph on his fastball before Brett Phillips was caught stealing to end the game. The 24-year-old Munoz has delivered three consecutive scoreless appearances after allowing a run in each of his previous three outings. He improves to 13-for-16 in save opportunities this season with a 2.89 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 62:21 K:BB across 43.2 innings.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Back in action
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Munoz (hip) allowed two hits and hit a batter while striking out one over a scoreless inning in Monday's 8-5 extra-innings loss to the Angels.
Munoz battled hip tightness over the weekend, but he was able to return to action without a trip to the injured list. He was a little wild but kept the score tied at 3-3 in the ninth inning, though the rest of the Mariners' bullpen faltered in the 10th and 11th frames. Munoz is at a 2.95 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 60:21 K:BB through 42.2 innings while racking up 12 saves and 13 holds this season.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Dealing with hip tightness
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Munoz said he's been battling some minor left hip tightness but threw without issue ahead of Sunday's game at Tampa Bay, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
Munoz will probably be unavailable for the Mariners' series finale against the Rays on Sunday at Tropicana Field, but there doesn't seem to be much concern that this is going to become a long-term issue. Matt Brash is the best bet for fill-in closer duties, though Munoz could be right back in action Monday versus the Angels.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Likely unavailable Sunday
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Manager Scott Servais said Munoz is dealing with "a little something" and is likely unavailable Sunday at Tampa Bay, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
"Am I concerned? No," said Servais. "Would I like to have him available today? Yes." Matt Brash hasn't pitched since Thursday and could act as the fill-in closer for the Mariners while Munoz grabs some rest.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Escapes with 12th save
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Munoz picked up the save Thursday against Tampa Bay. He hit a batter and issued a walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
The 24-year-old closer worked around a hit-by-pitch and a walk to shut the door on Seattle's 1-0 victory, getting back on track after allowing a run in each of his previous three appearances. Munoz has now converted 10 of his first 12 save chances since taking over as the primary closer at the trade deadline. The hard-throwing righty owns a 3.02 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and an impressive 12.7 K/9 across 41.2 innings on the campaign.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Falters for seventh loss
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Munoz (3-7) took the loss against the Reds on Tuesday, allowing an earned run on two hits without retiring a batter in the ninth inning.
Called on to preserve a 6-6 tie, Munoz got his frame off on the wrong foot when Elly De La Cruz legged out an infield single and subsequently swiped second base. That put the rookie phenom in position to race home on Christian Encarnacion-Strand's single to right, handing Munoz his seventh loss in quick fashion. The right-hander has had some bumps in the road since taking over the primary closer role following the trade of Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks at the deadline, blowing two of his 11 save opportunities, taking three losses and posting a bloated 1.60 WHIP across the 15 innings he's logged since Aug. 2.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Tagged with loss Friday
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Munoz (3-6) took the loss Friday as the Mariners were downed 2-1 by the Mets, giving up a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth inning. He struck out one.
Called upon to preserve a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth, Munoz instead tossed only 15 of 27 pitches for strikes, uncorked two wild pitches and gave up two stolen bases, somehow emerging with only one run on his ledger. The right-hander has been more lucky than good since taking over as Seattle's primary closer -- in 15 innings since the beginning of August, he has a 2.40 ERA despite a 1.47 WHIP, converting nine of his 11 save chances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Notches 11th save
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Munoz struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 11th save of the season in a 5-4 win over the A's.
The right-hander needed 14 pitches (nine strikes) to knife through the bottom of the Oakland lineup, topping out at 99.6 mph with his fastball. Munoz's first month as Seattle's main closer wraps up with a 1.93 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 20:7 K:BB through 14 innings, but just as he would occasionally sub in for Paul Sewald, Matt Brash could still get the call every now and then in the ninth no matter how well Munoz is pitching.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Gets 13th hold Sunday
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Munoz recorded his 13th hold in a win over the Astros on Sunday, firing a perfect eighth inning during which he recorded a strikeout.
The right-hander had notched a save while working around two hits in Friday's series opener, an outing that snapped a three-appearance streak with at least one run allowed for Munoz. He followed it up Sunday with his first clean outing since Aug. 3, which netted his first hold of August. Despite the occasional stumble, Munoz remains an elite source of strikeouts (11.8 K/9) and has done an excellent job keeping the ball in the park, having only allowed one home run across 34.1 innings over 35 appearances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Secures sixth save
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Munoz allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Padres.
Munoz has a save in all four of his appearances in August, striking out eight and walking two while allowing one run over four innings this month. The right-hander is up to six saves to go with 12 holds through 30 appearances this season. He's maintained a 2.83 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 42:13 K:BB through 28.2 innings. Based on usage since Paul Sewald was traded to Arizona, it appears Munoz has the upper hand on Matt Brash -- who earned a hold with a scoreless eighth inning Tuesday -- for save chances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Possible waiver wire pickups
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I've been shouting from the rooftops that Munoz is the big winner from the trade deadline with Paul Sewald going to the Diamondbacks, but the one place I haven't addressed it yet is in the semi-weekly Waiver Wire column. And clearly I need to given that his roster rate has risen only 14 percentage points since the trade. Maybe his perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts Wednesday will say more than I can, alleviating concerns that manager Scott Servais will return to his by-committee roots. It's only injuries that have kept Munoz out of the closer role this long, from his Tommy John surgery while still with the Padres to his shoulder strain earlier this year. The 24-year-old has an arsenal much like former Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, featuring a fastball that peaks at 103 mph and a slider with better than a 50 percent whiff rate.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: In line for closing role
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Munoz is in line to serve as the Mariners' primary closer following the trade of Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks on Monday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
Sewald had logged 24 save chances overall for the Mariners and Seattle is expected to remain a viable wild-card contender for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the potential closing workload Sewald's exit creates should afford Munoz his fair share of save chances, and the hard-throwing right-hander certainly has the stuff -- including a fastball that averages 99.1 mph -- for a ninth-inning role. However, the newfound opportunity comes in the midst of a handful of recent hiccups for Munoz, who's allowed an earned run in four of his last 10 appearances while taking three losses. The 24-year-old has converted two of the three save opportunities he's seen across 24 appearances thus far in 2023, and if he were to struggle as a closing option, fellow right-hander Matt Brash could conceivably be given a look in that role as well.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Bounces back with 10th hold
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Munoz secured his 10th hold in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday, firing a perfect eighth inning during which he recorded a strikeout.
The hard-throwing right-hander righted his ship with a sharp 13-pitch outing after having taken his third loss of the season Wednesday versus the Twins. Munoz has now reached double-digit holds for the second straight season, and despite some infrequent hiccups, he's sporting an impressive 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 13.3 K/9 and 0.4 HR/9 across 21 appearances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Hit with third loss Wednesday
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Munoz (2-3) took the loss against the Twins on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on two hits and two walks over one inning. He struck out one.
The hard-throwing right-hander suffered yet another stumble, marking the third time in his last eight appearances in which he's allowed at least one earned run. Munoz's troubles Wednesday came about due to a combination of some small ball and an error, as he yielded singles to Max Kepler and Willi Castro before Tom Murphy's passed ball allowed Kepler to cross the plate with the tie-breaking run. Munoz still has a pair of wins, nine holds and one save, but he's posted a 6.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over the 8.1 innings covering that aforementioned uneven eight-appearance sample.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Bounces back with first win
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Munoz (1-1) got the win against the Rays on Sunday, firing a scoreless seventh inning during which he recorded a strikeout.
Less than 48 hours after a rare meltdown in Friday's loss, Munoz was right back to his usual sharp shelf in Sunday's appearance. The right-hander fired 12 of 16 pitches for strikes, and he's now generated scoreless appearances in 13 of his 14 trips to the mound this season while forging an elite 19:4 K:BB across 13 innings.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Experiences rare stumble
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Munoz (0-1) took the loss against the Rays on Friday, allowing four earned runs on four hits over one-plus inning. He did not issue a walk or record a strikeout.
Both the Mariners as a whole and Munoz in particular saw their nights take sudden ugly turns after encouraging starts. The normally reliable right-hander cruised through his first frame upon entering in the seventh, preserving a 4-4 tie with a 1-2-3 inning. However, Munoz would go on to play an integral role in Tampa Bay's eight-run eighth, failing to retire any of the four batters he faced while directly surrendering two runs and being charged with two more when runners he'd left on base upon exiting eventually crossed the plate. Prior to Friday, Munoz hadn't given up a run since Sept. 29, his penultimate appearance of 2022. Despite the hiccup, the flamethrowing 24-year-old should continue to enjoy plenty of high-leverage opportunities given his track record.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Reinstated from IL
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Munoz (shoulder) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Tuesday.
As expected, the Mariners returned Munoz from the 15-day IL on Tuesday, clearing him to return to the big-league bullpen for the first time since April 9. The right-hander has appeared in four games with Seattle this season, tossing 3.1 scoreless frames, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three batters. The 24-year-old flamethrower will likely step right into a prominent high-leverage role in Seattle's bullpen, though veteran Paul Sewald could have a strong hold on the ninth inning for the time being. Regardless of where he slots in, Munoz figures to be a strong fantasy asset coming off of a 2022 campaign where he produced a 2.49 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with a 13.3 K/9 and 22 holds over 65 frames in 64 appearances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Could return Tuesday
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The Mariners are expected to reinstate Munoz (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's series opener in San Diego, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Though Munoz has been on the shelf since April 9 with a right deltoid strain, he's looked as effective as ever since starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma last week. He's yet to allow a hit over three scoreless innings, striking out three batters in those appearances while displaying his typical upper-90s fastball velocity. Heading into the season, Munoz was projected to be part of a committee at closer with Paul Sewald, but Munoz may have to settle for a setup role upon his return while Sewald has turned in a 2.96 ERA and 0.90 WHIP this season en route to converting all but one of his 12 save chances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Targeting early June return
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Munoz (shoulder) could rejoin the Mariners in early June, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
GM Justin Hollander spoke about Munoz's status Monday, and he noted that after the pitcher threw a light bullpen session earlier in the day, he "told the medical staff this is the best he's felt since spring." Munoz will likely head out on a rehab assignment shortly, and if all goes well, he could rejoin the Mariners during the team's upcoming road trip that stretches from June 1-11.
