SEATTLE _ If one of the best months in team history is proving that James Paxton has claimed the role of the Seattle Mariners' stopper, on Monday night he was also something of a quieter.
The typically boisterous Red Sox crowd that accompanies every visit by Boston to Safeco Field desperately wanted something to cheer about Monday night.
But in lifting the Mariners to a much-needed 4-0 win, Paxton shut down the Red Sox offense and shut up their fans quickly every time they began to stir, allowing just four hits with 10 strikeouts _ which tied a career high _ and no walks over seven innings.
The win made Paxton 5-0 in the month of July with a 1.62 earned-run average, just the third time a Mariners pitcher has won that many games in a month. The others were Jason Vargas, who went 5-0 in July 2012, and Felix Hernandez, who went 5-0 in September 2009.
Paxton is scheduled to pitch Sunday against the New York Mets with a chance to become the first Mariner to win six games in a month.
Paxton, who was given a quick 3-0 lead in the second, retired the first 13 Boston batters before Jackie Bradley Jr. fisted a bloop single into shallow center field, finally giving the Red Sox contingent a reason to get excited.
But the uprising ended quickly as Paxton struck out the next two hitters _ Chris Young and Deven Marrero _ each on knuckle curves of 80 and 81 mph, respectively.
The Red Sox threatened again in the sixth when Mariners first baseman Danny Valencia had to range far to his right to snare a grounder from Brock Holt and while turning awkwardly to throw across his body tossed the ball far over the head of the covering Paxton.
Mookie Betts then followed with a single through the hole between third and short, the first jam for Paxton. But he struck out Andrew Benintendi and Dustin Pedroia to keep the shutout intact.
Boston's first two batters in the seventh reached on singles by Hanley Ramirez and Bradley. But again Paxton quickly struck down the uprising, striking out Young and then on what proved to be his last pitch of the night, a 97 mph fastball, getting a double-play grounder from Marrero on a full count.
The game also continued Paxton's mastery of the Red Sox. He is 2-0 against Boston in three career starts, allowing one run in 23 innings.
Nick Vincent pitched a perfect eight and David Phelps an equally perfect in the ninth as the Mariners recorded their ninth shutout of the season.
The Mariners got all the offense they would need when Kyle Seager hit a solo home run in the second to make it 1-0. The homer continued a recent power surge for Seager, who has four home runs in his past 11 games.
The Mariners got two more in the inning when Ben Gamel tripled and scored on a ground out by Guillermo Heredia, with Heredia then coming home on a double by Jean Segura, a hit that broke a 1-for-19 slump in the homestand for the Mariners shortstop.
The Mariners got one more run in the fourth on a double by Valencia that scored Gamel, who had singled.
All of the runs came off Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who pitched six shutout innings against the Mariners in an eventual 3-0 Red Sox win on May 26 in Boston. But after one more start he went on the disabled list with a knee injury and hasn't been sharp in either start since his return.
The Mariners were 3-12 in their past 15 games at home and had lost three of four against the New York Yankees over the weekend to again fall below .500.
The disappointing Yankees series only added to the urgency for the Mariners in the last week of July as they host Boston and the New York Mets before a challenging August schedule in which they will be on the road for all but seven of 27 games.
But for a night, Paxton also quieted those fears as Seattle improved to 50-51.
