JP Crawford, Seattle Mariners.
For the third week in a row, the Seattle Mariners bullpen put up a sub-2 earned run average, and they needed it. Meanwhile, the M’s bats once again went silent, batting under .200 for the second week in a row.
Adding to the misery, a week after Sam Haggerty had a career week, he batted .063 (1-for-16) with 8 strikeouts. Taylor Trammell continues to struggle and is currently on pace to break 200 strikeouts (205). Mariners hitters have 80 more strikeouts than hits. As a team, their batting average is below .210 on the young season.
This bullpen is insane. They are led by two relievers that have yet to give up a run despite making at least 10 appearances. Kendall Graveman and Anthony Misiewicz have both looked lights out so far, and they continue to dominate in their outings. The Seattle Mariner’s bullpen leads the majors with a 2.30 ERA and a minuscule 1.00 WHIP. In addition, opponents are hitting .189 with a .560 OPS.
Justus Sheffield, 2 GS, 3.18 ERA, 1-1
Justus Sheffield’s first start against the Astros was brutal. He gave up 12 hits in 5.1 innings. Against the Angels on Sunday, he was the exact opposite. The Sheff gave up 2 hits in 6 innings, and despite being in trouble early and often, he settled down and cruised to a quality start and the win.
Kyle Lewis, .856 OPS, 2 HRs
Kyle Lewis is just coming back to form. While he only hit .222 during this period, his strikeout rate keeps improving as he gets his timing back. The reigning A.L. Rookie of the Year also added two dingers. He was one of only three Mariners whose slugging percentage was higher than .500 for the week.
Dylan Moore, .250 average, 1 HR, 3 SBs
Dylan Moore had a decent week, and he only struck out three times in 16 at-bats. He was caught stealing once, but his 3 steals moved him to 6 on the season. That puts him on a pace for over 30 on the season. Moore had his best week of the season. Hopefully, he’s turned the corner and will put up a better showing this week.
Both batted over .300 and had 8 hits on the week.
I’ve put two in here because the stars are still hard to come by from Seattle’s offense. But J.P. Crawford and Kyle Seager deserve the honor. Each had three doubles on the week, and Seager added a home run. Sadly, they were on base a combined 19 times this week and only scored 4 runs. Combined, they walked 7 times and struck out 9.
Beyond their batting prowess, their defense continues to be stellar. Crawford is a defensive wizard at shortstop, and Seager still has one of the highest range ratings at third base in all of baseball. The entire infield is fantastic with the glove, chemistry, and urgency, which starts with the M’s “veterans.”
1.88 ERA, 3 walks in 24 innings, 0.88 WHIP.
The Mariner’s bullpen continued their impressive start to the season. For the third consecutive week, they have an ERA under 2 runs per game. Rafael Montero had one bad outing in which he took the blown save-loss. It was only partially his fault as Evan White made a surprising fielding gaff. Robert Dugger was Seattle’s only other reliever to give up runs which came in the 10-5 loss to the Angels on Saturday.
Will Vest, Anthony Misiewicz, Kendall Graveman, Casey Sadler (IL), Keynan Middleton, Wyatt Mills, Domingo Tapia, and Drew Steckenrider all pitched this week without giving up a run. Surprisingly the Mariners only had 12 K’s in their 24 innings, but it didn’t matter. What matters is that they continue to keep opponents from scoring runs.
7 innings, 1 hit, 7 strikeouts, and a win
The Seattle Mariners went 3-4 but struggled mightily to put up runs, averaging just 3 runs per game this week. In two of their three wins, the M’s had to shut out their opponent to get a win. Case in point, Yusei Kikuchi fired a gem against the Astros on Thursday. Featuring mid-90s heat, a fantastic cutter, and exceptional control, Kikuchi gave Mariners fans something to get excited about.
He took struck out Myles Straw, Jason Castro, and Jose Altuve in the 6th inning to take a no, no into the 7th. With one out in the inning, Carlos Correa laced a double by Dylan Moore, who appeared to take a bad track on the line drive to end the no-hit bid. Kikuchi finished the inning, then handed the game over to the bullpen combination of Misiewicz and Graveman (see above about their dominance on the season), which was as good as ensuring the victory.
This week the Seattle Mariners face Baltimore and Texas. Both teams feature better than expected offenses but atrocious starting pitching. The M’s bullpen will face a big test, especially if starters get hit hard. The good news is these teams are the cure for the Mariners’ offensive woes. Both are in the bottom quartile for nearly all starting pitching statistics. Seattle hitters should be able to tee off. I’d expect to see some offensive players in our #1 and #2 spots next week.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan and author of Letter #3 and The Key as well as an award-winning playwright for “Right as Rain,” “Scraps,” and “Justin Thyme.” You can find some of his work at www.brokenartsentertainment.com