Mariners notebook: ‘Stabilized’ pitching the key on homestand, according to Scott Servais
Jul 2, 2016, 5:06 PM
June wasn’t kind to the Mariners pitching staff, with injuries that piled up in the rotation resulting in more work for the bullpen, which in turn likely factored in another injury (Nick Vincent). But despite still having several pitchers on the disabled list, the Mariners’ fortunes on the mound have appeared to turn around since returning home on June 24.
The Mariners entered Saturday with a 5-2 record on their homestand, and pitching has been as big of a reason why as any other. The M’s have received quality starts from Taijuan Walker, Hisashi Iwakuma and Wade LeBlanc (twice) in the last six days, and their bullpen has looked better, too.
“Our pitching has stabilized. That’s been the key to the homestand is we’ve gotten some good starts from our guys,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It lines up our bullpen and gives our offense a chance to get going.”
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In the same way that injuries to starting pitchers had a domino effect during Seattle’s rough last month, there’s been a domino effect the other direction with starters getting deeper in games with regularity. That, plus the addition of an extra arm on the first day of the homestand, has done wonders for the relievers.
“It’s taken the burden off of some guys, just the overuse,” Servais said of having the additional man in the bullpen. “Not so much as important I guess when your starter goes six innings – I’d much rather have the starter go six innings than look at it the other way – but it has helped. … Getting the starters kinda back in line, doing their job more consistently, it does ease the burden down there.”
And with less pressure on the bullpen, the Mariners are seeing nice results from their relievers. In Friday night’s 5-2 win over the Orioles, Mike Montgomery, Edwin Diaz (pitching on back-to-back days) and closer Steve Cishek all had stellar innings taking over for LeBlanc, who allowed just two runs over six frames to earn his first ‘W’ in a Mariners uniform.
“Really excited about our bullpen,” Servais said after the game. “Montgomery was fresh … Certainly saw the spike with his stuff, the velo, really good breaking ball. Diaz, you never know how he’s gonna be on the second (straight) night, but really good, sharp stuff by him. It’s fun to see. Young guys like that with those kind of arms, confidence-building and just going after a really good team.”
Notes
• Chris Iannetta will likely get more days off now with Mike Zunino on the roster, and Servais believes the veteran catcher’s presence will have an impact on the younger backstop. “He has played a ton. He’s done a really good job,” Servais said of Iannetta. “I do think it will really help Mike having Chris here with him, and also the fact that Zunino does not have to be ‘the guy.’ It’s much different when you’re struggling … you feel like have the weight of the world on your shoulders knowing you have to play every day. You don’t. We’ve got options. We can mix and match, which we will do that. I suspect that Mike will play more than (injured backup catcher Steve) Clevenger.”
• Clevenger’s surgery for the broken bone in his hand he suffered in Wednesday’s game went well. Servais reported that a plate with six screws was installed as part of the operation. “They think it will heal a lot quicker that way than if they casted it,” the skipper said. Recovery time for the 30-year-old Clevenger is estimated at 6-8 weeks.
• Charlie Furbush, who has been out with shoulder issues for nearly a year, threw a sim game Saturday afternoon at Safeco Field. Servais was cautious to make any proclamations about the veteran lefty’s status. “He’s gotten to this point once before. … Quite a few hurdles yet for him to jump through.”
