SEATTLE -- Josh Tomlin looked out toward right field, raised his arm high in the air and gave a thumbs up to Indians right fielder Ryan Raburn. Moments earlier, Raburn made an impressive diving catch to rob Seattle's Kyle Seager of an extra-base hit to open the second inning.Raburn's leaping grab aside, Tomlin did not need much help on Saturday night.Tomlin paved the way to a 5-0 win for Cleveland with the best start of his Major League career. The right-hander pushed his recent rough stretch to the side and seemingly toyed with the Mariners in a stellar shutout, evening this three-game series at Safeco Field at one game apiece. 
The lone misstep of the evening for Tomlin came in the fifth inning, when Seager sent a pitch into left field for a leadoff single. That snapped a run of 12 consecutive batters without allowing a hit for Tomlin, who then followed Seager's single by retiring the last 15 Seattle hitters he faced in order.It was an overpowering outing by a starter whose signature is finesse.Working with a fastball that sits around 89-91 mph, and a curveball that has been sharper than prior to his 2012 Tommy John surgery, Tomlin has revived his career this season with Cleveland. The 29-year-old righty labored in his most recent three starts, however, allowing 18 runs (13 earned) combined on 28 hits in 15 innings.Tomlin (5-5) did not face similar issues against Seattle.The right-hander ended his 111-pitch effort with a career-high 11 strikeouts to go along with no walks, finishing with just one hit allowed in a start for the first time in his career. The complete game was Tomlin's first since Sept. 24, 2010, when the starter finished what he started against Kansas City.With his showing in Seattle, Tomlin became only the second Cleveland pitcher since at least 1914 to have at least 11 strikeouts and no walks in a shutout with no more than one hit allowed. The other was none other than Len Barker, who accomplished the feat in his perfect game against the Blue Jays on May 15, 1982.Helping Tomlin's cause was a solid showing from the Tribe offense, which struck for five runs in the six innings logged by Mariners lefty Roenis Elias. Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each contributed an RBI hit in the first inning, Michael Bourn (RBI double) and Asdrubal Cabrera (sacrifice fly) fueled a two-run fifth and Yan Gomes launched a solo home run off Elias in the sixth.That five-run cushion was more that sufficient for Tomlin.The hardest-hit ball for the Mariners on the night came in the second, when Seager drilled a line drive that seemed destined to drop into the right-center field gap. Raburn -- starting in place of regular right fielder David Murphy -- sprinted to his right to track down the ball. At the last possible moment, Raburn left his feet and made a spectacular diving grab for the out.Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
The lone misstep of the evening for Tomlin came in the fifth inning, when Seager sent a pitch into left field for a leadoff single. That snapped a run of 12 consecutive batters without allowing a hit for Tomlin, who then followed Seager's single by retiring the last 15 Seattle hitters he faced in order.It was an overpowering outing by a starter whose signature is finesse.Working with a fastball that sits around 89-91 mph, and a curveball that has been sharper than prior to his 2012 Tommy John surgery, Tomlin has revived his career this season with Cleveland. The 29-year-old righty labored in his most recent three starts, however, allowing 18 runs (13 earned) combined on 28 hits in 15 innings.Tomlin (5-5) did not face similar issues against Seattle.The right-hander ended his 111-pitch effort with a career-high 11 strikeouts to go along with no walks, finishing with just one hit allowed in a start for the first time in his career. The complete game was Tomlin's first since Sept. 24, 2010, when the starter finished what he started against Kansas City.With his showing in Seattle, Tomlin became only the second Cleveland pitcher since at least 1914 to have at least 11 strikeouts and no walks in a shutout with no more than one hit allowed. The other was none other than Len Barker, who accomplished the feat in his perfect game against the Blue Jays on May 15, 1982.Helping Tomlin's cause was a solid showing from the Tribe offense, which struck for five runs in the six innings logged by Mariners lefty Roenis Elias. Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana each contributed an RBI hit in the first inning, Michael Bourn (RBI double) and Asdrubal Cabrera (sacrifice fly) fueled a two-run fifth and Yan Gomes launched a solo home run off Elias in the sixth.That five-run cushion was more that sufficient for Tomlin.The hardest-hit ball for the Mariners on the night came in the second, when Seager drilled a line drive that seemed destined to drop into the right-center field gap. Raburn -- starting in place of regular right fielder David Murphy -- sprinted to his right to track down the ball. At the last possible moment, Raburn left his feet and made a spectacular diving grab for the out.Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
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