Three things: Mariners’ starting pitching is coming around
May 2, 2016, 11:28 AM
The Mariners enter this week just a half-game behind the Rangers for first place in the American League West after notching another a pair of series wins during their 4-2 homestand.
Here’s three things to keep in mind as the Mariners head back out on the road:
1. Legitimate reasons to believe.
Two things jump out after the past week for the Mariners. First, they won both of their series at Safeco Field, taking two out of three over the Astros and then last year’s World Series champions, the Royals, to push their streak to five series victories in a row. Second, they closed out April with an impressive 13-10 record, marking the first time since 2009 (13-9) that they finished the first month of the season over .500. Even after opening May with a loss Sunday, the Mariners are on pace to win 87 games, which would put them right in the middle of the playoff hunt. For a team that is trying to snap a postseason drought that goes back to 2001, the Mariners have to be feeling pretty good right about now.
2. The starting pitching has come around.
It took a little while, but the one thing most thought would be Seattle’s biggest strength this season, its starting rotation, is living up to the billing. Felix Hernandez (1.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) and Taijuan Walker (1.80 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) have been dynamite, and while Hisashi Iwakuma’s last outing wasn’t great, he at least has two quality starts under his belt. The really encouraging news is what Wade Miley and Nathan Karns have done after struggling in their first few starts. The quick-working, strike-throwing Miley faced a daunting task Saturday against the Royals, who have a reputation for being aggressive and turning opposing pitchers’ molehills into mountains. And yet Miley turned in maybe the best start of his MLB career, nibbling the corners on his way to his first complete-game shutout as a major-leaguer. He might just be starting to get on a roll. That was his second straight win, following a victory over the Angels in which he lasted 7 1/3 innings despite giving up three runs in the first. As for Karns, he snapped a string of three straight starts in which he went just five innings by going seven scoreless, two-hit frames Tuesday to beat Houston.
3. The offense still needs to warm up.
Don’t get me wrong, the Mariners have shown the capability to take over a game at the plate. All you need to do is look at the 11-1 win over Houston on Tuesday or the 6-0 victory Saturday against Kansas City to see that. But while Robinson Cano keeps hitting the ball out of the ballpark and Seth Smith is making “professional at-bat” a popular phrase in Seattle, the rest of the offense has a ways to go. For example, Seattle managed just one hit – Smith’s 100th career home run – in Friday night’s 1-0 victory (by the way, Hernandez has somehow both won and lost games this season in which the victor had one hit, which is absolutely mind-boggling). The offense had a different problem on Sunday against Kansas City, lacking the timely hitting to do much with its eight hits to lose 4-1. Those issues are definitely present in the mind of general manager Jerry Dipoto, who delved into the offense’s issues on “Mariners Magazine” before Sunday’s game.
