PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- On Tuesday night, the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 at PNC Park. It was the only game that the Mariners won in the three-game series, and they enter play on Friday at 41-41 overall. 

Despite the frustrations of the season, the M's are still in first place in the American League West. They lead the Athletics, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros by 1.5 games.

Part of the reason why the Mariners are in the position they are in is because of the relief work of right-hander Eduard Bazardo.

In that Tuesday win, manager Dan Wilson elected to stick with Bazardo in a dicey situation: Seattle led 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. There were two men on and two men out with a lefty at the plate. Rather than go to lefty Gabe Speier, Wilson stuck with Bazardo, who got the job done.

"Our confidence level is with all of our guys. But, you know, 'Zardo was a guy who was throwing the ball well, and I just thought that would be a good situation to stay with him. We had Speier ready in case, and we have a lot of confidence in Gabe. We have confidence in all our guys, so sometimes you just have to kind of read the game and see how it goes.

But Bazardo is continuing to throw the ball well. Gabe's throwing the ball extremely well. Jose (Ferrer), tonight, again, threw the ball extremely well, too, in the seventh. Those guys in the bullpen are coming in, throwing strikes, not beating themselves, and getting their outs."

A breakout sensation in the bullpen last season, Bazardo is now 3-2 with a 1.98 ERA. In 38 games, he's got a WHIP of 1.24. In fact, he's on pace for some unique M's history, as noted by Mariners PR.

He is on pace to become one of five M's relievers to record at least 35 appearances and a 2.60 ERA in back-to-back seasons. He appeared in 73 games last year with a 2.52 ERA. He had 82 strikeouts in 78.2 innings. This year, he has 33 in 36.1. He's really stepped up in the absences of Matt Brash and Speier, who both missed times this season with injury. Brash is now on the injured list for a second time.

The Mariners will take on the Cleveland Guardians on Friday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. PT.

The most recent edition of 'Refuse to Lose Territory' is out, with thoughts on my visit to Pittsburgh, Bryan Woo's viral press conference and more. You can listen here, or you can watch below.

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