Mariners notes: Miller’s mastery, Saturday’s magical comeback propel series wins

Bryce Miller grew up in Mount Pleasant, Texas, only a few hours from Houston and the Astros, his hometown team.

In Sunday’s start -- his T-Mobile Park and Mariners home debut -- Miller put childhood nostalgia aside and defused the team he once rooted on. The 24-year-old was masterful, intimidating Houston’s lineup with 60 total fastballs and inside paint to expand the strike zone.

He was, simply, a “cool customer,” seemingly unfazed by the defending champions’ bats.

Manager Scott Servais was taken aback by Miller’s animated fastball, which flirted with triple digits. And again, like in his major league debut Tuesday, Miller went six innings and surrendered two hits, this time for a scoreless outing and first-career win.

Outfielder Julio Rodriguez obliterated a 454-foot solo home run to open scoring and Seattle held on, 3-1, for a victory and series win. The Mariners outhit the Astros, 11-6.

“I just think the sky is the limit for (Bryce Miller),” Servais said. “It is fun to watch him work.”

A night earlier, hope for victory faded and energy from a crowd over 40,000 dampened as Seattle was blanked at T-Mobile Park against rival Houston and trailing, 3-0.

Unable to produce runs in situational hitting, the Mariners were left on the brink of another offensive collapse. Desperate to support a quality start from Marco Gonzales and avoid consecutive losses to the Astros, Seattle needed a minor miracle.

After outfielder Jarred Kelenic struck out looking for the second out of the eighth inning, the Mariners held just a 3.6 percent chance to win Saturday’s game, per ESPN. Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith deemed the offense “gasping for breath” as the crowd remained silent, rather dispirited as the defending champions appeared poised for another win.

“We… looked dead in the water,” manager Scott Servais said. “I was concerned, I think, is an understatement.”

With nobody aboard and Astros reliever Rafael Montero on the bump, third baseman Eugenio Suarez drew a two-out walk – the first blip of life for any chance of a rally. Catcher Cal Raleigh followed with a check-swing tapper that dribbled left of the mound; it escaped Montero’s reach and rolled between Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena, Houston’s left infield.

Raleigh reached and outfielder Tesocar Hernandez followed with a matching infield single, unplayable for Pena at shortstop.

So up stepped shortstop J.P. Crawford, with two outs, the bases loaded and Hernandez at first base, the tying run. The crowd, reinvigorated, rose in unison.

“You just try to tell yourself to breathe up there,” Crawford said, “and stay as calm as possible. (The crowd) chanting my name, it never gets old. It’s one of the best feelings… you want to get the job done even more.”

Crawford worked a 3-0 count and took the fourth pitch, a fastball, for a strike one. The next pitch sent T-Mobile Park into a frenzy – a laser-beam, bases-clearing double that rolled to the base of the right-center wall. Crawford scalded Montero’s offering beyond the reach of Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker, which allowed Hernandez to score from first.

Seattle’s first hit to escape the infield dirt that inning plated three runs and instantly tied the game, once a contest that appeared destined for doom.

“There are certain players that understand the moment, and what the game calls for in that moment,” Servais said. “And J.P. is one of those guys.”

Out came Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr. Montero’s night was officially over, but Seattle’s offense was far from finished.

The Mariners plated seven runs in the eighth inning, in total. Houston then turned to reliever Ryne Stanek, who surrendered the game-winning, two-run double to infielder Jose Caballero two batters later. Rodriguez and outfielder Jarred Kelenic tacked on run-scoring singles to balloon the lead to 7-3, in that order.

And the rally was needed. Mariners closer Paul Sewald surrendered two runs and allowed Houston’s tying run into the batter’s box. He struck out Mauricio Dubon swinging on three pitches to end the game, the last a devastating sweeper over a foot outside of the zone.

The Mariners became the first MLB team since 1901 to score seven or more runs in a game with all of them coming after having two outs and no runners aboard, via OptaStats.

“That’s our baseball,” Crawford said. “Hopefully, it’s a spark to the forest fire.”

MILLER MAKES DAZZLING DEBUT

As Scott Servais stood in the visiting dugout of Oakland’s Coliseum, he was struck by the coolness and calmness of Bryce Miller – the young, 24-year-old Mariners starter making his major-league debut.

No indications pointed toward these being Miller’s first pitches in the show. Standing at six-foot-two – a blonde mustache his standout feature – Miller tortured Oakland hitters already on the brink of a lost season Tuesday. A high-rising, 95-mph fastball generated 11 of his total 13 whiffs.

Once he began landing secondary pitches – a cutter and slider, mainly – Oakland’s first hit turned from ‘when’ to ‘if.’

Miller went on to finish a dazzling debut – six stellar innings of two-hit, one-run ball in Oakland, also a crucial performance in a closely-contested, 2-1 win. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Athletics infielder Tony Kemp broke up the attempt with a single to center field.

Miller finished with no walks and 10 strikeouts, the most punchouts in a major league debut in team history.

“You never really know until the lights come on,” Servais said after Miller’s standout debut. “And (he) was the same guy.”

Miller was officially promoted from Double-A Arkansas hours before his Tuesday start, announced in a release. Pitching lines aside, Miller felt strong in four minor league starts this year where he went 0-2 with a 6.41 ERA for Double-A Arkansas. Low-probability infield hits inflated those numbers, he said Tuesday.

But Miller remained accurate with his repertoire, and deeper analytics “reinforced how (he) felt.”

“I’ve been confident ever since spring training,” he added.

Miller’s dominant fastball proved it, setting a new major-league high in four-seam spin rates. His average of 2,576 RPMs on 57 fastballs thrown notched a major-league best for any starter in a performance this season.

“I threw a lot of fastballs, and they weren’t hitting ‘em, so I just kept throwing ‘em,” Miller said.

In his final start for Double-A Arkansas last season on Sep. 17, 2022, Miller took another no-hitter into the sixth against Double-A Corpus Christi. That gem featured 14 strikeouts, a career-high across all professional levels.

Tuesday’s major-league, metaphorical stage was much larger, but Miller simplified his approach and trusted his repertoire. In Servais’ words, it was as good as a debut gets.

How cold was the post-game Gatorade bath?

“I got one when I left Arkansas, but this one was a little different,” he said, laughing. “It’s cold. Somebody threw peanut butter on me, ice cream, toothpaste… I don’t know what’s going on.”

The high-rising fastball that wowed Servais in Oakland was in full effect Sunday, alive for a spin rate of 2,783 RPM, at its peak.

SHORT HOPS

– Robbie Ray underwent surgery on his left elbow Wednesday, performed by Dr. Keith Meister at TMI Sports Medicine in Arlington, Texas.

Dr. Meister performed a flexor tendon repair and reconstructed the Ulnar Collateral Ligament, the reconstruction better known as Tommy John surgery.

Following initial recovery, Ray will arrive in Arizona in roughly two weeks to begin rehabilitation. Servais announced last week that Ray, 31, will miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

Ray spoke with the team via FaceTime following Wednesday’s surgery, shortly before the Mariners boarded their bus for that night’s game at the Oakland Coliseum.

“Obviously, he’s got a long road ahead of him,” Servais said. “It’s gonna be challenging. But if anybody’s gonna come through strong, it’s Robbie Ray.

“Good to see his face. I don’t know if he’s going to get his hair cut until after he comes back and pitches again, so we’ll have to wait and see. He was in good spirits.”

– Reliever Juan Then made his major league debut Saturday night and delivered a perfect, one-two-three inning over Houston. Seattle placed reliever Penn Murfee on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, which created Then’s roster spot.

Then, 23, became the third Mariners player to debut this season, joining Jose Caballero and Bryce Miller.

– Second baseman Kolten Wong rolled his left wrist on a dive for a ground ball in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 7-5 win over the Astros. Wong was forced to exit the contest and did not play Sunday, but initial x-rays came back negative and Servais says his second baseman “should be OK.”

“We’ll see how he is, just day-to-day,” Servais said.

ON DECK

Seattle completes a six-game divisional homestand with three games vs. Texas, starting Monday. The Rangers’ offense bolted out of the season’s gates and currently remain atop the AL West standings, one game above Los Angeles.

Logan Gilbert gets Monday’s start at T-Mobile Park, slated for a 6:40 p.m. start.