As pitching returns to strength, Passan ‘cannot give up’ on Mariners

After a day off last Thursday, the Seattle Mariners shook off a 4-12 stretch by sweeping Cleveland over the weekend. And while the M’s fell on Monday to the Boston Red Sox, there was a continuation of the biggest reason they had success against the Guardians.

Strong pitching – particularly from their starting rotation.

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In a 5-2 win over Cleveland on Friday, Luis Castillo threw six innings of two-run ball. On Saturday, George Kirby allowed just two runs over five innings in a 4-3 M’s win. Sunday saw Emerson Hancock go seven scoreless in a 6-0 victory. And in Monday’s 2-0 loss to Boston, Logan Gilbert impressed in his return from the injured list by striking out 10 while giving up just two runs over five innings.

The flip side of that is that Seattle’s lineup has not been as productive as it was in April, when it was among the best offenses in baseball.

It’s a familiar feeling, as the M’s are built around their pitching staff. It’s just that injuries to Kirby, Gilbert and Bryce Miller factored into an uncharacteristic start to this season. But now that Kirby and Gilbert, both of whom have been All-Stars, are back in the rotation, it has ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan singing a familiar tune.

“Man, I just, I cannot give up on this team because I continue to be in love with the pitching,” Passan said during his weekly Tuesday conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

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The starting rotation remained remarkably healthy over the previous three seasons, but with three pitchers encountering arm trouble early this year, it was worth wondering if that luck had run out.

So how does Passan react to seeing what Gilbert and Kirby have done in the last week?

“How nice. Like, what a relief it is,” Passan said. “Because we know what arm injuries can do. We know how they can linger, we know that they can ruin a season.

“And for so many years, the Seattle Mariners have been absolutely blessed in terms of arm health that it just felt like, OK, bill’s coming due. Like, this is the consequence of all of these years of health that some of the best arms in this great rotation that the Mariners have are are finally breaking. No – Logan Gilbert, I mean, he looked like Logan Gilbert last night. George Kirby, again, starting to look like George Kirby.”

Passan mentioned that he participated in an ESPN.com article that published Tuesday ranking the 30 lineups in baseball, and explained both where he stood in ranking the Mariners’ offense and why the team’s rotation is so important to their success.

“I had the hardest time with the Mariners because I kept saying to myself (that) if we did this exercise a month ago, I would have had them as like a top 8 lineup. And I think I wound up putting them like 17th,” Passan said. “And so the the variance between the two – you know, the Jekyll and Hyde-ness of this Mariners lineup – is counterbalanced by a pitching staff, and particularly a rotation, upon which you can rely.

“And there are very few fan bases who I think can sit there and say, I fully believe in the rotation of the team that I root for. If you’re not saying that with the Mariners, you’re just not paying attention.”

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan joins Brock and Salk at 8:30 a.m. each Tuesday during the baseball season. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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