SEATTLE -- If the Angels are going to be contenders for an American League Wild Card spot, they’re going to need better starting pitching over the final two months of the season.

The rotation took a hit this week with Andrew Heaney being placed on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation, while Matt Harvey was released after his struggles. But left-hander Dillon Peters stepped up in a big way in a spot start on Sunday, as he threw five scoreless innings in a 9-3 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. It helped lift the Angels to a much-needed series win 10 days before the July 31 Trade Deadline.

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“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. “The fastball-curveball mix, occasional changeup to righties. When he throws strikes, he can be tough on guys. His curveball is a tough pitch to square up. I give credit to him.”

Peters, making his first start with the Angels this season and his first appearance since June 8, scattered four hits and two walks with four strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.63 in 13 2/3 innings this year. He’s likely to get a short-term look in the rotation, especially with Heaney out for at least 10 days and possibly longer.

Peters threw 90 pitches, including his curveball 23 times. He induced 10 swinging strikes on the afternoon, including five with his four-seam fastball. He utilized his two-seamer to bust lefties inside while going to his four-seamer more against right-handers. It all set up his curveball, which kept Mariners hitters off-balance.

“That's been a focal point all year, getting it to where I'm comfortable with it,” Peters said. “And today it was the curveball that I’ve always loved.”

Peters has made five appearances for the Angels this year and four have come against the Mariners. He's allowed three runs over 12 1/3 innings for a 2.19 ERA vs. Seattle. Catcher Dustin Garneau caught Peters for the first time in the Majors this year, but he's also worked with him several times in Triple-A Salt Lake and came away impressed. He noted that the two-seamer has better movement away from the high altitude in Salt Lake, which makes Peters more effective against lefties.

"This was one of the better ones definitely,” said Garneau, who was one of four Angels players to homer. “I caught him a lot in Triple-A. He was crisp today. His changeup wasn't as good as it usually is, but his fastball and curveball were on point."

Peters was able to pitch with a lead, as Albert Pujols got the Angels started with a solo homer off Yusei Kikuchi in the second. It was the 15th homer of the season for Pujols, who joined Barry Bonds, Eddie Murray and Frank Robinson as the only players with at least 15 homers in each of their first 19 Major League seasons. Since the All-Star break, Pujols is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with two homers and 13 RBIs.

“He continues to amass amazing numbers that few that have put on a baseball uniform have come close to achieving,” Ausmus said. “It’s been a remarkable career.”

Peters received a much bigger cushion in the fourth with the Angels scoring four times, keyed by a two-run homer from Brian Goodwin and an RBI triple from Luis Rengifo. They scored two more times in the fifth, helped by back-to-back doubles from Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton, before Mike Trout connected on yet another homer against the Mariners in the seventh. It was Trout's American League-leading 32nd blast of the year and his eighth against Seattle.

"The team gave me nothing but run support," Peters said. "It was just an all-around awesome game."