PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller was the tough-luck loser in a 5-1 defeat against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park.

Miller gave up three earned runs courtesy of two home runs over 5.2 innings. He also struck out 11, tying a career-high.

He continued to flash his upper-90s velocity, while also using a solid sweeper and splitter. He kept Pirates hitters off-balance all game long, but ultimately fell to 3-2 on the campaign. He owns a pristine 1.97 ERA, striking out 54 batters in 45.2 innings. He has a WHIP of just 0.72.

Speaking after the game on Thursday, Miller detailed the keys to his bounce back 2026.

"Yeah, I mean, I've felt really good this year. I think I had a really good 2024, and 2025 kind of got derailed from with injuries and stuff, and I came back healthy, besides the oblique, once we got past that, velo's been up.

I've been executing offspeed pitches - offspeed and breaking balls in zone and then just trusting my stuff has been big. Having confidence in any pitch, any count has been big for me.

So, yeah, really the only time that I've gotten in trouble so far this year is when I put myself in a hole. I've given up a 3-0 home run, 3-1 home run, and then just a couple mistakes here and there that have left the yard.

So far there hasn't been...no one's really strung together a bunch of hits. It's just like I've been able to limit the walks, giving up a few home runs and most of them have been solo until today.

But yeah, I mean, just executing my stuff, keeping guys off the bases, and if they get one, like, I'm fine with giving up solos. But yeah, overall, main thing, healthy and confident."

Miller made only 18 regular season appearances in 2025, going 4-6 with a 5.68 ERA. He appeared in the playoffs, pitching well in both the American League Division Series and the American League Championship Series.

The Mariners will be back in action on Friday afternoon against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. The M's are 41-41 while Cleveland is 42-39 and tied for the American League Central lead with the Chicago White Sox.

Luis Castillo is pitching for Seattle.

The most recent edition of 'Refuse to Lose Territory' is out, with thoughts on my visit to Pittsburgh, Bryan Woo's viral press conference and more. You can listen here, or you can watch below.

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