PITTSBURGH — Maybe Jeanmar Gomez should be given short notice every time he pitches.

The Pittsburgh right-hander tossed five shutout innings after being thrust into the starting role less than three hours before game time, helping the Pirates to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Gomez allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out five while dropping his ERA to 2.38, heady territory considering that the team’s primary long reliever had already gone through his usual pregame routine when manager Clint Hurdle beckoned him to his office and said he needed somebody to fill in for injured James McDonald.

The struggling right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after experiencing tightness in his throwing shoulder. Enter Gomez, acquired in a trade with Cleveland in January. He made the team as a utility pitcher and is becoming more valuable by the week.

“It’s really hard because you throw already, you play catch and you do your workout,” Gomez said. “But you know if the team needs me and the manager asks me, I feel ready.”

He certainly looked ready before giving way to Pittsburgh’s dominant bullpen. The Mariners never got a runner to third base during Gomez’s 66-pitch effort.

“A guy comes in here at 4 o’clock and you tell him he’s going to start, to get that effort we were real happy,” Hurdle said. “He continues to show up and do a very professional job in whatever we tell him to do.”

Five relievers kept the lead intact, with closer Jason Grilli delivering a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 13th save as the Pirates improved to 14-0 when leading after seven innings. Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 4 with an RBI-double and Garrett Jones hit a two-run homer in the eighth.