It seems all Seattle Mariners pitcher Justus Sheffield needed was a little confidence.

Sheffield (1-2, 4.12 ERA), winless in his first nine major-league starts, finally got untracked with a victory against Colorado on Aug. 9, pitching six scoreless innings without walking a batter and striking out seven. He followed that with a no-decision in Houston despite allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits in six innings, with one walk and four strikeouts.

The 24-year-old left-hander is scheduled to start again Saturday night when the Mariners host the Texas Rangers. He’s 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in one career relief appearance against the Rangers.

“He’s throwing strikes and he’s getting his fastball to the glove side, which has opened up his slider off that,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Sheffield. “We are really excited with the growth and where he’s headed. The projection, it’s going in the right direction.