The Mariners’ typical mode of victory has been beating up on bullpens late after struggling to get anything going against a starter, relying on their pitching to keep the game close. Tonight they flipped the script by dinging Rangers ace Jacob deGrom for three runs, getting him out of the game after just four innings. Due to some shakiness from the pitching side, it still required some late-inning heroics, this time from their franchise catcher, because it’s still the Mariners, who remain firmly against giving fans an easy win to celebrate.
It was a battle from the first pitch for Bryce Miller, who couldn’t get a handle on his command, falling behind batters, walking two, and suffering long at-bats that saw his pitch count balloon to 30, with just 16 strikes, at the end of the first inning.