Once again, the Seattle Mariners won a tight game, this time winning the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament with their 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Hisashi Iwakuma pitched a gem, allowing just 5 hits and a run in 7 innings while striking out 7. St. Louis’ John Tudor was just as good, giving up just 4 hits in 7 1/3 innings. One of those hits was a solo home run to Edgar Martinez. Meanwhile, the Cardinals sole run was a struggle, coming on a sacrifice fly by Rogers Hornsby. St. Louis loaded the bases with one out in the 6th, but Mark McGwire struck out and Albert Pujols grounded out to end the inning. Facing Todd Worrell in the 9th, Bret Boone drew a walk, and Tom Paciorek tripled two batters later to give Seattle the lead. Adrián Beltré singled against Bruce Sutter for an insurance run, but they wouldn’t need it, as J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless 9th for his 4th save. The Seattle Mariners shocked everyone with a perfect 7-0 run in the Tournament. Most remarkable, Seattle won all of their games on the road. It all came down to pitching, as the Mariners had the best ERA in the American League. Their staff allowed just one homer in each of their 1st three games, but none in their last 4. They’ll hope to keep the success going if and when there is another Tournament.