Munoz was charged with a blown save Monday against Tampa Bay, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout in one-third of an inning.
Munoz entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and runners on second and third. He walked Jose Caballero before allowing a two-run single to Yandy Diaz, giving the Rays a 4-3 lead. While Munoz blew the save, it is encouraging that he was called upon for the high-leverage situation over fellow closer Ryne Stanek, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning. The Mariners closer situation should still be considered a committee moving forward, with Munoz offering the most upside. Despite blowing the save, the 25-year-old has been dominant this season, compiling a 1.41 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and a 43:11 K:BB over 32 innings, converting 13-of-15 save opportunities with six holds.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Posts five-out save
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Munoz earned the save Tuesday in an 8-5 win over Cleveland, allowing one hit while striking out one over 1.2 innings.
The Mariners turned to Munoz after Trent Thornton loaded the bases in the eighth. Munoz would proceed to coax a pair of groundouts to get out of the inning before turning in a scoreless ninth, earning his 13th save of the campaign and his third of four or more outs. The 25-year-old Munoz lowered his ERA to a pristine 1.47 this season with a 0.95 WHIP and 42:10 K:BB across 30.2 innings.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Deployed in eighth inning
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Munoz walked one and struck out three in a scoreless and hitless eighth inning to earn a hold in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.
Munoz has been dealing with a back issue for most of June so far, but he's still seen high-leverage work when available. The right-hander was deployed in the eighth inning Friday against the top of the Rangers' lineup, while Ryne Stanek got the call in the ninth and earned the save. Munoz has picked up three holds and a loss over his last four outings, but it seems this is less about his injury and more about a matchups-based approach to the late innings by manager Scott Servais. Munoz has a 1.55 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 41:10 K:BB with 12 saves and six holds through 29 innings this season.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Returns with loss Thursday
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Munoz (back) picked up the loss Thursday as the Mariners fell to the White Sox, allowing an unearned run in the 10th inning.
Munoz allowed a walk and a hit before a fielder's choice brought home the automatic runner. The good news was that Munoz didn't allow much in the way of hard contact and generated three swings and misses among his 17 pitches, 11 of which were strikes.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Receives injection for back
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Munoz had an MRI and bone scan on his back come back clean, but he received an injection Tuesday to address the lingering soreness, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
The right-hander last pitched Sunday in Kansas City and has made just two appearances in June while battling through the back issue. Munoz hasn't officially been declared unavailable, but the Mariners may try to stay away from him for another day or two as he recovers.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Back in action
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Munoz (back) recorded one strikeout in a perfect eighth inning Sunday against the Royals. He said he "felt weird" out on the mound and was happy with the outing even though he didn't feel like he had his best stuff or command, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.
He was the first reliever out of the bullpen after George Kirby tossed seven innings of one-run ball. Mike Baumann came on in the ninth inning and gave up two earned runs to blow the save (and eventually pick up the win). It sounds like Munoz will be considered available going forward, although his back might not feel fully healthy.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Throws light bullpen Friday
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Munoz (back) threw a light bullpen session before Friday's game against the Royals, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, but the reliever did not appear in the contest.
Divish had noted there was a possibility Munoz would be available for the first time since exiting Tuesday's game against the Athletics, but it was Ryne Stanek who got the ninth-inning call and ultimately failed to protect a 9-7 lead. With Stanek having appeared in three of the last four games and having thrown 39 pitches in the last two nights, Munoz would certainly be in line for any high-leverage work Saturday if he's healthy enough to handle it.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Could be available this weekend
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Munoz (back) played catch prior to Thursday's game in Oakland, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.
Drayer adds that Munoz was seen giving fist bumps to others afterward, which would seem to indicate things went well. Munoz had to be removed from an appearance Thursday versus the Athletics, but there's optimism he can avoid the injured list and could be available to pitch this weekend in Kansas City, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Still in holding pattern
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Munoz (back) said Wednesday that he's feeling better and remains optimistic he'll avoid a stint on the injured list, MLB.com reports.
The results of the right-hander's MRI are still pending, but Munoz appears confident the flareup of a lower-back issue that caused his removal from Tuesday's appearance is temporary. Munoz revealed Wednesday he had actually been dealing with his back strain since the second game of the season and has been managing it with treatment and other pain-management remedies. Consequently, the collision with the Athletics' Max Schuemann in Tuesday's game wasn't the actual culprit, as Munoz added that he had already been feeling back tightness when warming up in the bullpen that night. Munoz's MRI results could be the ultimate determining factor in whether he avoids an IL stint, with those results likely to be available at some point Thursday.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Dealing with back injury
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Munoz has been dealing with a lower-back injury over the past few weeks and aggravated the injury during his collision with Oakland's Max Schuemann in Tuesday's 4-3 win, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. He recorded two outs and was charged with one earned run on two hits en route to collecting his fourth hold of the season.
The initial concern following Munoz's removal from Tuesday's game was with his right ankle/leg, which seemed to get pinned underneath Schuemann, but the issue now appears to be linked to the closer's ongoing back problem. Manager Scott Servais said Munoz will head in for an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of his latest flareup, at which point the Mariners will likely make a decision on whether or not the 25-year-old righty will require a trip to the injured list. Should Munoz have to miss time, Ryne Stanek would likely be the next man up for saves.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Exits following collision
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Munoz was removed from Tuesday's game against the Athletics with an apparent injury, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
Munoz collided with Max Schuemann while covering home plate following a wild pitch, appearing to get his right ankle/leg caught underneath the sliding Schuemann. After throwing a warmup pitch, the right-handed reliever was taken out of the game, though he was able to head into the Mariners' clubhouse under his own power. An update on the severity of Munoz's injury should come before Wednesday's game.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Converts 12th save
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Munoz allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Angels.
Munoz's scoreless streak is up to six innings, and he allowed just one run over 13.1 innings in May while converting all seven of his save chances during the month. The closer is 12-for-13 in save chances this year. He's been hard to hit with a 1.42 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 35:8 K:BB over 25.1 innings as the Mariners' top ninth-inning option. Munoz needs one more save to match his career high from last year.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Registers 11th save
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Munoz earned a save against the Astros on Monday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work.
Munoz had just a one-run lead to work with when he came into the game in the ninth inning, but he made things look easy with a perfect frame. The right-hander now was nine straight successful save conversions since blowing his lone save of the season against Colorado on April 21. Munoz has given up just one earned run over his past 14 appearances and has recorded an impressive 21:2 K:BB across 16 innings during that span.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Enters double digits in saves
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Munoz picked up the save Tuesday against the Yankees, allowing one hit and one walk over a scoreless inning. He struck out one.
Munoz has converted on eight straight save chances and has allowed just one run in his last 12 outings. He's one of 10 closers to reach double figures in saves and boasts a 1.69 ERA through 21.1 innings overall.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Notches ninth save
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Munoz allowed a hit in a scoreless inning against the Yankees on Monday. He struck out two and earned a save.
Munoz worked around a one-out single by Juan Soto to finish off the 5-4 victory. Since blowing a save in Colorado on April 21, Munoz has converted his last seven chances, allowing just one run over 13 innings during that span. His ERA is down to 1.77 with a 28:7 K:BB through 20.1 frames.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Nails down save No. 8
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Munoz allowed a run but hung on to notch his eighth save of the season in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Orioles.
Gunnar Henderson made things interesting with a two-out, solo home run, but Munoz quickly bounced back and sat down Adley Rutschman swinging to end it. Henderson's long ball represents the only run Munoz has allowed over his last 10 appearances, and he boasts a 15:1 K:BB over 12 innings during that span.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Delivers five-out save Wednesday
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Munoz gave up a hit and struck out three over 1.2 scoreless innings Wednesday to record his seventh save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Royals.
Austin Voth ran into trouble in the eighth inning, so Munoz got the call with runners on second and third and only one out to protect a 3-1 lead. The Mariners' closer did allow an inherited runner to score, but Seattle got the run right back in the bottom of the frame and Munoz dominated the ninth. It's the fourth time this season he's worked more than one inning to notch a save, and with Matt Brash (elbow) done for the year and Gregory Santos (lat) potentially not back until the All-Star break, Munoz may have to continue putting in extra work until Seattle settles on a new setup crew.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Collects sixth save
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Munoz earned a save against the Royals on Monday, striking out three batters in 1.1 perfect innings.
Munoz was summoned from the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning with two outs, Seattle up by two runs and the tying run at the plate. He struck out Nelson Velazquez to end the threat, then got some stress reduction when the Mariners' offense put up two runs in the bottom of the frame. From there, Munoz closed things out without incident, fanning two of the three batters he squared off against in the ninth frame. The save was his sixth of the season and first since April 30, though no other Seattle pitcher recorded a save in the meantime. Munoz has looked great since his lone blown save of the campaign April 21, tossing 9.1 scoreless frames during which he's posted a 10:1 K:BB across eight appearances.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Picks up second win Sunday
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Munoz (2-2) got the win against the Astros on Sunday, firing 1.1 perfect innings during which he recorded a strikeout.
Munoz continued what is turning into his best stretch of pitching this season, locating eight of his 11 pitches for strikes on his way to his ninth scoreless effort in the last 10 appearances, including his fifth straight. The right-hander has whittled his ERA and WHIP to 2.03 and 1.13, respectively, and he'd also recorded saves in three consecutive appearances before Sunday's victory.
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Mariners' Andres Munoz: Goes five outs for save
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Munoz completed a five-out save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Atlanta, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three in the process.
Munoz was forced into the game a bit earlier than expected after Ryne Stanek allowed three base hits to turn things into a 3-1 ballgame. Munoz did allow an inherited runner to score on a throwing error but was dominant otherwise and retired the side in order in the ninth with two strikeouts. Tuesday was the fourth time this season Munoz has pitched more than three outs and it was the third consecutive save he's converted, with all three coming over the last five days. The 25-year-old now owns a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 16:7 K:BB in 12 innings thus far.
