In the seventh inning and later this season, the Seattle Mariners have a 2.80 ERA that is the lowest in the majors. Believe it or not, much of the credit goes to the Seattle rotation.

While the bullpen has a respectable 3.57 ERA overall, the starters have allowed just one earned run in 18 innings from the seventh inning on. Their line over those 18 innings is 11 hits and three walks allowed with 16 strikeouts.

Seattle Starters after the Sixth Inning, 2009

Pitcher. . . . . . . . . . . IP. . . . . . .H. . . . . . .ER. . . . . .BB. . . . . . .K
Felix Hernandez. . . . .6.0. . . . . . 4. . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . 1. . . . . . . 5
Jarrod Washburn. . . .5.0. . . . . . 4. . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . 2. . . . . . . 6
Erik Bedard. . . . . . . .4.0. . . . . . 3. . . . . . . .1. . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . 5
Chris Jakubauskas. . . 2.0. . . . . . 0. . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . 0
Carlos Silva. . . . . . . .1.0. . . . . . 0. . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . 0. . . . . . . 0

Erik Bedard has given up the sole earned run over four frames of work after the sixth inning. Felix Hernandez has pitched the most innings from the seventh on, and Jarrod Washburn has fanned six over his five frames.

Friday night’s starter is Jason Vargas. The M’s left-hander hasn’t allowed a run in 3.1 innings after the sixth, but he was in the bullpen for those 10 outs. He’s working his third straight start after making his 2009 debut as a reliever in early May. For the season, Vargas is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings. Two solo homers are the only runs he’s allowed.