Commentary: After 5-2 stretch, Mariners are starting to live up to expectations
SEATTLE – This, right here, is what it is supposed to look like.
Not just Wednesday, when the Mariners beat the Reds 5-1 while allowing just one hit.
And not just this series, in which Seattle swept Cincinnati over three games to climb within one game of .500.
This is a seven-game span we’re talking about – a small but auspicious sample size indicating that the expectations for this season weren’t misguided.
Dominant pitching. Standout defense. And, finally, some life in the lineup.
Rarely does the vision from the brass translate to the field without a setback or two. But the way the Mariners have won five of their past seven? This, for the most part, was the plan.
“That looks like Mariner baseball as we know it,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said after Wednesday’s victory. “This is how we put the team together. … We are driven by our pitching staff, and playing really good defense, and that’s the thing that stood out for me over the last week or so – we’ve played much cleaner baseball.”
Cleaner, yes. But really – just better baseball.
The Mariners, remember, were considered by many to have the best starting rotation in MLB before the season began. Then, Seattle gave up at least five runs in eight of its first 12 games. And though the M’s still rank 13th in MLB in ERA (3.93), they rank first over the past seven days (2.00).
On the forefront of this mound turnaround is Bryce Miller, who allowed one hit and one run in six innings Wednesday while amassing seven strikeouts and one walk. The 25-year-old is 3-1 on the season with a 1.85 ERA and an 0.82 WHIP. Asked Wednesday if he could have envisioned this scorching of a start, he smiled and said, “For sure.”
By his own admission, Miller didn’t have his best stuff against the Reds. But perhaps that speaks to how much he has developed since his MLB debut last season. His teammates in the rotation have all looked sharp recently, as well.
Logan Gilbert allowed one run in 6⅔ innings in Tuesday’s win over the Reds, dropping his ERA to 2.33 in the process. George Kirby rediscovered his form Monday after two shaky outings, allowing just two runs in six innings to a Cincinnati team that came in averaging 6.1 per game. And though Luis Castillo stands at 0-4 on the season and is in the midst of the worst start to his career, he allowed just two earned runs while striking out nine in six innings Sunday.
The Mariners (9-10) are going to need more from Castillo, the opening-day starter who finished fifth in last season’s American League Cy Young Award voting, but his track record suggests he’ll snap out of his first-month funk.
Miller thinks that’s true of the whole staff.
“We know we have a lot of talent in the starting rotation and in the bullpen, and anybody coming in out of the bullpen or anybody starting the game every day is going to be good and give us a chance to compete” Miller said. “We’ve had a few hiccups here and there, which everybody does, but it’s good to see us all putting it together.”
Of course, the one guy everyone has been waiting to put it together is center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who finished fourth in last year’s AL MVP voting. The 23-year-old came into the series hitting .186, and though he is still without a home run on the season, he went 5 for 14 this series, which included a pair of doubles Wednesday.
Has anything changed?
“He’s freeing himself up – he’s not thinking about his mechanics. He’s up there and if it looks like he can hit, he’s gonna hit it,” said Servais, adding that his defensive effort on Tuesday has boosted Rodriguez’s overall confidence. “Julio is always going to be an aggressive player. And he’s going to drive you crazy on certain days – ‘Why would he swing at that pitch? Why would he do that?’ But that’s Julio. That’s what makes him special. He’s got unbelievable talent.”
Didn’t hurt that designated hitter Mitch Garver finally got a ball over the fence on Wednesday after a series of quality at-bats this series. Doesn’t hurt that the M’s – still 25th in MLB in OPS – have scored five or more runs in three of their past six games. Doesn’t hurt that they are just one game back of Texas for first place in the American League West despite all their hitting woes.
“Our team as a whole, we have our head above water right now and we have not been hitting the baseball like we know how – and that’s a good thing for us,” Garver said.
Being one game below .500 is not where the Mariners wanted to be through 19 games. That record might be far below expectations, but this team isn’t far off.