48 Alex Colome RP

Colome recorded his 25th hold in a win over the Orioles on Monday, firing a scoreless eighth inning in which he allowed a hit and recorded a strikeout.

Colome has been a mostly reliable setup option for manager Scott Servais, although he's prone to the occasional blow-up. The 29-year-old had just allowed four runs (three earned) against the Athletics on Saturday, and he'd also been touched up for a pair of earned runs against the Dodgers on Aug. 18. However, Colome has settled in otherwise since the calendar flipped to July -- even factoring in the aforementioned hiccups, he's posted a 1.82 ERA, .217 BAA, 1.09 WHIP, 92.4 percent strand rate and 30.0 percent strikeout rate over the 24.2 innings encompassing his last 24 appearances.

Colome earned his 16th hold with a scoreless eighth inning in a win over the White Sox on Sunday. He has a perfect ERA across 6.2 innings over seven appearances in July.

The early portion of Colome's tenure in Seattle was rocky to say the least, as he generated a 6.75 ERA over 10.2 innings in June, his first full month in a Mariners uniform. However, he's hit his stride as a setup man in the current month, and he's actually put together eight consecutive scoreless appearances dating back to his final June outing. Colome has whittled his ERA back down to 3.95 after it hit 4.86 as recently as June 27, and despite the hit his fantasy value took when he lost his closer's role in the trade from the Rays, he's partly made up for it by racking up holds at a healthy clip.

Colome, who earned his eighth hold with a scoreless eighth inning during which he recorded two strikeouts against the Orioles on Monday, sports a 5.87 ERA across 7.2 innings over nine June appearances.

Colome has been more good than bad during the month, as the five earned runs he's allowed have come over three appearances. He's logged seven holds overall in June, although he was also charged with a blown save last Wednesday against the Yankees. Colome seems to be adjusting fairly well to a setup role behind closer Edwin Diaz, but it's worth noting he's seen increases in both flyball (22.7 percent to 37.0 percent) and hard contact rate (24.2 percent to 33.3 percent) since arriving from the Rays via trade on May 24.

Colome allowed two earned runs on two hits and a hit batsman over one inning in a win over the Rays on Thursday. He struck out one.

Last week, Colome had stymied his former squad while earning a pair of holds at Safeco Field, but it was a different story Thursday. Brought on with Wilson Ramos at second and none out in the ninth, Colome promptly retired Matt Duffy and the debuting Jake Bauers on a groundout and strikeout, respectively, before plunking Carlos Gomez. A Mallex Smith single later, Johnny Field touched Colome up for a bases-clearing two-bagger that brought the Rays within a run. Colome was subsequently able to close out the win by retiring Daniel Robertson on a game-ending roller to third, but the two runs he surrendered marked the first blemishes on his Mariners resume across five appearances.

Colome was credited with his second hold in Friday's extra-innings win over the Rays, firing a scoreless eighth inning in which he recorded a strikeout.

Colome encountered his former Rays teammates for the first time and breezed through his one frame on 10 pitches, eight of which he threw for strikes. The Mariners looked well on their way to felling Tampa with a lethal late-inning 1-2 punch of Colome and Edwin Diaz before the latter blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth, but Colome's outing was certainly encouraging. He's now generated three consecutive scoreless efforts since arriving in Seattle, recording a save and a pair of holds during that stretch.