Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock demoted after rough stretch
For the second time this season, a shaky start by Emerson Hancock has been followed by his demotion from the Seattle Mariners rotation back to the minors.
Hancock was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday after giving up five earned runs a night earlier in a loss to Kansas City. It concluded a rough three-start stretch for the young right-hander where he was tagged for nine earned runs in windy Chicago against the Cubs, worked five innings but took the loss in Minnesota and then was knocked around by the worst run-scoring offense in baseball in the month of June on Tuesday night.
Over the past three starts, Hancock has allowed 16 earned runs, walked nine batters and hit three more.
The Mariners selected veteran lefty Joe Jacques from Tacoma, which if nothing else, gives the M’s an extra arm for a bullpen that’s been heavily taxed over the past week. Jacques has appeared in 26 Triple-A games this season between the Dodgers and Mariners organizations. He was acquired in exchange for right-hander Will Vest on June 2.
Hancock’s first demotion to the minors came after his first start of the season on March 31 when he failed to make it out of the first inning against Detroit. When he returned in mid-April, Hancock seemed to shake off the bad first start and what clearly appeared to be a reactionary demotion by the M’s front office. He had been a solid starter for the better part of two months until the recent skid.
Between April 17 and June 15, Hancock made 11 starts and posted a 3.65 ERA. That stretch included a start where he gave up seven earned runs to the Yankees, but in the other 10 starts he allowed three earned runs or less.
But the start in Chicago was concerning, even with the wind howling that weekend at Wrigley Field. Hancock allowed nine runs on six hits and gave up four home runs in just four innings.
Hancock threw four shutout innings against the Twins before giving up a two-run homer to Trevor Larnach in the fifth inning and being pulled after that inning.
And his start on Tuesday was shaky from the outset. Too many pitches left in hittable spots led to Kansas City scoring three times in the first two innings.
“We were able to get through six, but just didn’t execute well enough for us to give us a chance to win there,” Hancock said afterward. “ … I’m not really happy with that.”
The question now shifts to who will take Hancock’s next turn in the rotation. The obvious choice would be Logan Evans, who has already made seven starts for the M’s this season, going 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA. His last start came in Arizona on June 10 when he allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. Evans last started for the Rainiers on June 28 in Round Rock where he was tagged for eight runs in just three innings. He could slot into the rotation sometime this weekend against Pittsburgh and then avoid having to pitch at Yankee Stadium next week.
The M’s also have Jhonathan Diaz and Casey Lawrence in Tacoma that could be brought up for spot starts if needed.