PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners were unable to hold off the Chicago White Sox and fell 5-1 in a Cactus League game Saturday at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz.

Despite not scoring a run until the eighth inning, multiple Mariners were able to have solid showings that bode well for when the regular season starts March 26.

Here's three takeaways from Seattle's loss against Chicago:

Seattle starting pitcher Logan Gilbert has long been regarded as having one of the most unhittable pitches in the major leagues with his splitter.

When the 2024 All-Star establishes his fastball, the one-two combination of his heater and splitter often yield great results.

Gilbert, who has a vast arsenal even by starting pitchers' standards, has been able to use his splitter to get ahead in counts in the past when his fastball falls short.

A third pitch to get ahead in counts is still something that can serve the right-hander well and he showed off a potential option against the White Sox.

Out of his 54 pitches, Gilbert threw the cutter seven times. He landed two for strikes and generated one whiff with it.

He finished the game with two strikeouts in four innings pitched, allowed two hits, walked two and hit a batter.

"Every start, especially this one being different, actually proved that there could be a little more value in the cutter than we thought," Gilbert said after his start Saturday. "I still got around a couple that were a little slider-y. But I even got a swing-and-miss on one of those. I think there's a time and a place for it."

Gilbert has tried to implement the cutter in the past but feels he hasn't had the correct arm slot for the best results. He entered this spring with an objective not to focus too much on introducing or trying out secondary pitches and opted to refine his slider, curveball and cutter.

Gilbert doesn't anticipate the cutter to be a heavily-utilized pitch but it's a tool he can have in his back pocket.

"It's definitely a different look," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. "He continues to work on it, I think it's a good weapon, particularly against the lefties to get something on their hands a little bit more."

Brendan Donovan was at the top of many Seattle fans' wishlist for the team to acquire this offseason.

So far this spring, Donovan is showing the Mariners' decision to trade for him was worth it.

Donovan went 2-for-3 for Seattle on Saturday. He was the only M's batter with multiple hits.

Donovan has slashed .467/.529/.467 with a .996 OPS this spring. He has one RBI and has stolen one base. He's struck out just twice in 17 plate appearances.

"Donovan with some outstanding at-bats again," Wilson said. "He just really is a tough at-bat. Whether it's right-on-left or left-on-left, he's a tough at-bat. Hit the ball hard a couple of times, got us on-base."

Finding a second high-leverage reliever to pair with Gabe Speier has been something the Mariners have been searching for for months.

Seattle believes it found that in the offseason when it acquired Jose Ferrer from the Washington Nationals in return for top 100 prospect Harry Ford.

The southpaw struggled in two of his first three spring outings. Across his trio of appearances prior to Saturday, he allowed five earned runs on as many hits in two innings pitched. He struck out two batters and issued three free bases (two walks, one hit batter).

Ferrer bounced back Saturday. He fanned two and allowed one hit in one inning pitched.

The Mariners will face the Milwaukee Brewers at 12:10 p.m. PT on Sunday at American Family Fields in Maryvale, Ariz. 

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