The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon to move to 68-78 with 16 games left in the season.

The win itself was nice for a Mariners team still clinging to marginal playoff hopes, but it was also nice for rookie starter Kade Anderson, who earned his first major league win by going six innings and giving up one run on six hits and one walk. He had five strikeouts.

Now, there was a lot to like from this start. First and foremost, Anderson crossed the six-inning mark for the first time in his career. He was efficient with his pitch count, throwing 81 pitches in that time, and he also tossed 55 strikes. He limited the walks and attacked the zone.

It wasn't all perfect. He still caught too much of the plate at times, and he gave up 10 hard-hit balls out of 18 balls put in play, but it was a great step forward for Anderson, who we spoke a lot about on last week's 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.

One of the concerns about Anderson has been about his velocity, or lack thereof, through four starts. Anderson has reached as high as 95-96, but has also been as low as 91, and seems to live in the 92-94 range. 

As he has learned, and as is shown on the pitch above, you can't get away with 92-94 as easily in the big leagues as you can in the minors.

Speaking on Thursday's 'Refuse to Lose Territory,' I asked ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney if he has any concerns about Anderson's ability to succeed at these velocities. 

"So the answer to your question that I just posed to you is absolutely can make it work with that stuff. And we see pitchers with other teams making it work with that kind of repertoire. You know, Ranger Suarez, got what, $130 million from the Red Sox with a very similar repertoire to what Kade Anderson had.

You know, Ranger Suarez, I think in 2025 might have had the lowest average fastball velocity in baseball. But because of his pitch mix, because the way he could execute his command, he got paid in a big way. Sonny Gray doesn't throw that hard, but he executes.

Now, Kade Anderson has much less experience than Sonny Gray, and you're not going to get that overnight. Kade Anderson reminds me a lot of Cole Hamels. Right? In terms of the stuff that he brings, the way that he pitches and yeah, I think he could absolutely make it work. He's going to make it work.

I think he's going to be really good, major league pitcher. I think the big thing is the Mariners can't be in a position where they're leaning too heavily on relying on his success because he is a young guy who is still learning."

And for what it's worth, I think Anderson can come back next year with 10-15 pounds of muscle and can carry a little more velocity.

The Mariners will take on the Rangers again on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. PT.

The most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, featuring ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, is out. You can listen here, or you can watch the video in the YouTube player below.