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Mariners starter Emerson Hancock flummoxed the A's on Tuesday in West Sacramento.

If the Seattle Mariners are going to again challenge for the World Series, it is going to be because their pitching carries them.

So it’s a good thing Emerson Hancock continues to pitch like he belongs in the Seattle rotation.

Hancock flummoxed the Athletics over six scoreless, one-hit innings, dominating the A’s and helping the Mariners push within a half-game of first place in the American League West.

It was the fourth-year righty’s seventh quality start of the season, and he dropped his ERA to 2.78 while walking only two and striking out three. Hancock improved to 4-2 and ranks 10th in the majors among qualified starters in WHIP (1.01).

Emerson Hancock Dominated the Athletics

His fastball wasn’t overpowering. He only got six swings and misses in 87 pitches. But Hancock was supremely in control in West Sacramento on Tuesday.

Pitching in front of thousands of Mariners fans who made the trip from Washington to Sutter Health Park, Hancock retired the first 12 Athletics hitters by pitching to soft contact and letting his fielders do the work.

“It’s something that I want to continue to work on, because I do think I can be a lot better at that,” Hancock said, according to MLB.com. “But at the same time, you’ve got to keep fighting. You’ve got to keep making pitches and find new ways to kind of mix and match your pitches.”

Hancock pummeled the zone with strikes. He threw 56 strikes, and fired a first-pitch strike to 13 of the 22 batters faced before exiting the game with a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning.

“He was just phenomenal tonight,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “To do what he did, getting through that sixth inning there, I thought was huge.”

Emerson Hancock Continues to Give the Mariners What They Need

The Mariners starting rotation has been in flux this season, particularly with Luis Castillo’s ongoing struggles and the controversy with Bryce Miller piggybacking him.

But Hancock continues to be a bright spot in the Seattle rotation, and one that came from relative nowhere. He leads Mariners starters in ERA and is second in FIP (3.57) while improving to 4-2.

“He’s a stud, man,” Mariners catcher Mitch Garver said. “He has a really good idea of what he wants to do each night when he steps on the mound.

“Tonight, we had to pivot a little bit and go to a different game plan because of how aggressive they were. So we’d start throwing the sinker more, which was really effective. We had a ton of weak contact.”

Hancock’s development has made Castillo’s struggles hurt less, even though Seattle is two games under .500 ahead of Wednesday’s series finale.

Hancock’s Expected ERA is 4.11 per FanGraphs, which means a regression could be in order, but the Mariners improved to 6-5 in his starts and 4-2 in his past six outings.

With Hancock helping as that solid starter behind aces Bryan Woo and George Kirby, Wilson can feel the Mariners season getting back on track.

“You start to feel like maybe you get to a groove and start to feel a little bit more consistent,” Wilson said. “I think that’s what we’re looking for.”