What Logan Gilbert – and Mariners SPs – are best in MLB at

The Seattle Mariners won their first game of the season in exciting fashion, and that understandably led to the focus mainly being on how the M’s won in the late innings.

That’s not the same thing as why the Mariners won, though.

Arozarena’s bat spike had meaning to this Seattle Mariners season

Any conversation about the 4-2 victory over the Athletics on Thursday night should really start with Seattle’s starting pitcher, Logan Gilbert.

The 27-year-old right-hander took care of business in his first career opening day start, looking every bit the player who made the American League All-Star team and led MLB with a 0.887 WHIP and 208 2/3 innings pitched in 2024. Gilbert went seven innings on Thursday, striking out eight while allowing just a single run on two hits and no walks.

Gilbert showed why he was worthy of getting the first opportunity to pitch for the Mariners this season, and he provided a reminder of why Seattle is a team that others in the AL can’t forget about.

“That’s why the Mariners are a contender,” Mike Salk said Friday morning when he discussed the opening day win on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “Doesn’t matter what else happened in the offseason. All that other stuff, while important, is not the foundation. That’s the fixtures. That’s all the finishings. The foundation is the pitching.”

Gilbert may have ended up with a no-decision as the Mariners’ offense had trouble getting to Athletics starter Luis Severino. But when he left the game, the Mariners still had plenty of opportunity to win because of the condition Gilbert left the game in. And that’s what Seattle’s starting pitching has been able to do in recent years as good as any rotation in baseball: give the team a chance to win.

Some serious efficiency

There’s one thing in particular that stood out to Salk from Gilbert’s outing. And it’s something the M’s do better than just about any other team, and he does better than any single pitcher.

“As good as Logan was through seven innings last night on opening day – eight strikeouts, two hits, no walks – he only threw 83 pitches,” Salk said. “I mean, eight strikeouts – generally strikeouts take a bunch of pitches, right? If you want to get deep into a game, throw a whole bunch of ground balls. No. He still managed to strike out eight over seven innings, but he does it while only throwing 83 pitches.

“He wasn’t in any trouble. All he did was give up, unfortunately, a big solo home run. So that was just a completely dominant, dominant performance from Logan Gilbert.”

Not only did Gilbert lead the big leagues in innings last year, but Seattle’s starting pitchers logged the most innings in baseball with 942 2/3, which was over 30 more than the next team, the Kansas City Royals (911 innings). And it’s not that the Mariners’ starters are overworked. They were the best in MLB in another statistic: pitches per inning. No other team’s starters were more efficient than Seattle’s, who averaged just 15.31 pitchers per inning.

By the way, Gilbert averaged 11.86 pitches per inning on Thursday – lowest of any starting pitcher to get the nod on opening day. That was almost three pitches less per inning than he averaged last season, when – you guessed it – he led all MLB starters with just 14.58 pitches per inning.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Mariners rookie’s defense wasn’t a concern in opening day win
• How Mariners opening day star Polanco feels different this year
• Seattle Mariners Observations: What stood out from opening day win
• Watch: M’s legend Ichiro fires 84 mph first pitch to Dan Wilson
• Manager Dan Wilson breaks down his Seattle Mariners lineup

Related

Salk: For Seattle Mariners to make playoffs, they need these 4 thingsBrock: The important change the Allen family leaves with SeahawksESPN’s Peter Schrager says Rams hype ‘out of control,’ not to overlook SeahawksSeahawks on ‘Hard Knocks’: Brock & Salk’s 2 big takeawaysSeahawks’ big concern going into season is kicker Jason MyersSalk: Leonard Williams sets his path to being a Seahawks ROH member