Mariners notes: Logan Gilbert impresses through 5 starts; Julio Rodriguez hits home run No. 1
There is one starter in the big leagues who still carries an earned run average below 1.00 through five appearances.
One starter who has allowed only three runs — and only two earned — during that stretch.
He pitches for the Mariners.
Logan Gilbert, in his second season in the majors, has put together one of the most stellar first months of any starting pitcher across baseball this spring.
Through five starts, the 24-year-old right-hander has shut down opposing lineups, allowing only the two earned runs and limiting batters to a .180 average across 28 innings. Gilbert has collected 27 strikeouts while walking only eight.
His four wins are tied for most in the majors, and his 0.64 ERA is the best among qualified American League starters entering the week.
What he produced in his most recent start Sunday afternoon in Miami was a continuation of a stellar showcase during the month of April.
Pitching in his home state for the second time in a week, Gilbert completed 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out five and walking four, helping Seattle end a four-game skid in the series finale against the Marlins.
“Logan Gilbert was fantastic,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters in Miami after the win.
Gilbert didn’t give up a hit against the Marlins until there were two outs in the fifth, when he allowed back-to-back singles. He responded by striking out Jorge Soler with a slider on the lower outside corner to end the threat.
“It comes down to his competitiveness,” Servais said. “He’s a really good competitor. You see it come out later in ballgames. It’s something we saw last year, we’re seeing it again this year.
“He gets in that fifth and sixth inning, he knows he has to really bear down there and get us those big outs, and he’s been able to do it.”
The pitch preserved what was then only a two-run Mariners lead, and Gilbert was visibly pumped up after seeing Soler chase it.
“I could tell that was a big moment in the game,” Gilbert told reporters in Miami postgame. “And up until then I felt pretty good, but really everything goes out the window at that point — you just have to sell out to make one pitch, and I was able to do it.”
Gilbert returned for the sixth, recording two outs before allowing a solo home run to Brian Anderson. He left the game at that point, but the Mariners were well in control by then after taking a five-run lead in the top half of the inning.
The home run was only the second earned run Gilbert has allowed through his five starts.
The first inning of his first outing this season, he gave up a solo home run to Minnesota’s Luis Arraez.
Gilbert faced 106 batters across 22 innings between the two solo home runs — and none of them crossed home plate with an earned run.
The only other run he has allowed was in his second start against the White Sox in Chicago, when Jake Burger singled in Adam Engel, but Engel reached on an error an at-bat earlier.
That’s it.
All of it has added up to the lowest ERA through the first five games of any starter in club history.
“I feel pretty good about it,” Gilbert told reporters in Miami asked about the adjustments he made during the offseason heading into his second year in the majors.
“Still trying to clean it up start to start and in every bullpen, but being able to use four pitches in the zone, harder slider, all that kind of stuff, I feel like the whole arsenal is playing off each other better.”
HOME RUN NO. 1
There was no doubt.
When Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez connected on a sinker from Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara in the sixth inning Sunday, it was clear the pitch would land well over the wall in left center field.
He dropped his bat, looked over toward the Mariners’ dugout, and trotted around the bases for the first time in his big league career.
“I was really excited,” the 21-year-old outfielder told reporters in Miami postgame. “And it felt really good having that first homer in the moment that it came, too.”
The three-run shot — which had an exit velocity of 110.4 mph and traveled 450 feet, per Statcast — gave the Mariners a comfortable 5-0 lead, and they went on to complete the 7-3 win over the Marlins.
“That’s who Julio is,” Gilbert told reporters in Miami postgame. “He shows up. It was awesome. The dugout went crazy.”
Rodriguez also collected the first three-hit game of his career Sunday, with a pair of singles and the homer.
“It was kind of the Julio breakout game,” Servais told reporters. “We were waiting for that first homer to come, and it couldn’t come at a better time. And he killed it. He absolutely did. That was a bomb.”
Rodriguez is hitting .234/.306/.325 through his first 21 career games with 10 runs scored, four doubles, the home run, nine RBI and seven walks to 30 strikeouts. His nine stolen bases on nine attempts lead the majors.
ROSTER MOVES
The Mariners made several roster moves last week. Here’s a rundown of the transactions:
▪ Outfielder Mitch Haniger (high right ankle sprain) was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday after being removed from Friday’s series-opener in Miami in the second inning.
Haniger injured his ankle during his first plate appearance since April 15, returning from missing 11 games while on the COVID IL.
Through nine games in April, Haniger hit .200/.222/.486 with three runs scored, a double, three homers, seven RBI and one walk to nine strikeouts.
Outfielder Stuart Fairchild, a former Seattle Prep standout, was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move after hitting 7-for-21 (.438) last week in four games with the Rainiers.
Fairchild’s first appearance with the Mariners would be his debut with his hometown club.
▪ Catcher Luis Torrens was activated from the IL last Monday, and reliever Paul Sewald was activated Wednesday.
▪ In a series of moves Thursday, reliever Penn Murfee was selected from Tacoma again a day after he was optioned, while reliever Wyatt Mills was also recalled from Triple-A.
Catcher Cal Raleigh was optioned to Tacoma after appearing in nine games the first month of the season — and starting eight behind the plate — while reliever Yohan Ramirez was also optioned to the Rainiers, and first baseman Evan White (sports hernia) was transferred to the 60-day IL.
▪ Reliever Matt Koch was designated for assignment Friday when Haniger was activated.
▪ Infielders Kevin Padlo and Mike Ford were each traded to the Giants for cash considerations last week after previously being designated for assignment.
SHORT HOPS
▪ The Mariners (12-10) bookended their trip to Florida with a pair of wins, topping the Rays in Tampa Bay in the series opener and the Marlins in Miami in the series finale, but dropped four consecutive games in between.
The four-game skid matched Seattle’s longest of the season. The club also lost two games each to the Twins and White Sox on the road before winning nine of its next 11, including finishing 7-2 during the opening homestand in April.
▪ Shortstop J.P. Crawford extended his current hitting streak to 10 games on Sunday, including adding his fourth home run of the season. Sunday’s win was also his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
Crawford ranks among the best in the majors in several offensive categories among qualified players.
His batting average (.372) through 22 games ranks third and leads the AL, his on-base percentage (.462) is second, his slugging percentage (.628) eighth and his OPS (1.090) fourth. His team-leading 29 hits rank third.
ON DECK
The Mariners round out their nine-game road trip with a three-game series against the Astros (11-11) in Houston beginning Monday.
They return home Thursday to play a four-game series against the Rays (12-10), then host the Phillies (11-11) for the first time since 2017 in a three-game set.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
