The Seattle Mariners toppled the rival Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday night at Daikin Park, improving to 20-22 on the season.

While a home run from Julio Rodriguez was excellent, and clutch base hits by Cole Young and Dominic Canzone were imperative, the Mariners pitching staff also deserves immense credit.

George Kirby went five solid innings, giving up just one run, while the bullpen quartet of Nick Davila, Cooper Criswell, Eduard Bazardo and Andres Munoz slammed the door for four shutout innings.

With Matt Brash and Gabe Speier on the injured list, and Jose A. Ferrer on the paternity list, the Mariners have a patchwork bullpen group right now, but that group got the job done.

Fur Munoz, the outing could prove to be especially important. Munoz entered the game with an ERA of 6.00, and we've spoken extensively about his issues, but he looked in prime form on Monday. He got two quick outs before giving up a single to Jose Altuve, but then he struck out Yordan Alvarez on a filthy changeup to end the game. Munoz hit 101 mph with his fastball and 90 mph with his slider, and his control was better than it had been during his struggles as well.

Daniel Kramer of MLB.com posted a video of Munoz's reaction to the performance, with a thought from him as well:

"A lot of emotions. I’ve been working a lot of stuff and as soon as I got in I said, ‘I’m going to do my best,’ and that’s what I did."

We talked more about Munoz's night and the optimum word to describe it on the latest 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast as well:

"I don't think that Andrés Muñoz's stuff is regressing. The velocity is still great. The whiff rate was in the 100th percentile when I spoke to you on Friday. Andrés Muñoz, his stuff is still really good. His stuff ticked up even on Monday. Obviously, after several days off, he was throwing 101 miles an hour. The slider was at 90. He looked fresh, but also he looked confident, and Aaron Goldsmith (Mariners broadcaster) used the word, and I think it's the right word, he had conviction in what he was throwing. He threw strikes. He peppered the zone. He got ahead. He utilized the slider, and he utilized the kick changeup, and look, he struck out Yordan Álvarez as well, something that is not easy to do.

You have to hope that that is the kind of outing that springs him forward. Again, the stuff was great, the confidence looked there, and the conviction looked great. Again, ahead in the count, and when you are ahead in the count, you can dictate terms, and when you have the kind of stuff that Andrés Muñoz has, then you can force the hitter onto his heels and into some positions that they don't want to be in. That's how you get Yordan Álvarez waving at a 1-2 changeup that's well off the plate.

That was an excellent outing for Andrés Muñoz, and again, I hope it springboards him forward because this team needs him, especially while the bullpen is in this state."

Conviction is the right word for Munoz. When he's locked in and confident, he can be the two-time All-Star that he's been in 2024 and 2025, but when he lets his mind race on him, that's where the struggles clearly happen. 

For more discussion on Munoz - and the rest of the M's - you can watch the latest episode of 'Refuse to Lose Territory.'

The Mariners will take on the Astros again at 5:10 p.m. PT on Tuesday night. Bryan Woo be on the mound.

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