Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller will likely have shorter outings against the Los Angeles Dodgers
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners starting rotation is hitting its stride just in time for the playoffs.
In a 3-2 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, Seattle starting pitcher George Kirby struck out 10 batters, walked one, hit one with a pitch and allowed two earned runs on three hits (one home run) in five innings. It was the second time in three starts Kirby fanned double-digit hitters and his third consecutive outing where he struck out at least seven.
The Mariners entered Friday's game against the Dodgers guaranteed a top-two seed and a bye through the wild card round of the playoffs. Seattle was locked in as the No. 2 seed after the loss to Los Angeles.
Due to the Mariners' position, the team opted for a more conservative approach for Kirby's outing, which resulted in him being pulled after the fifth inning at 85 pitches.
According to a postgame interview with Seattle manager Dan Wilson, that will likely be the team's approach with Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller, who are set to start the final two games of the regular season against the Dodgers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
"We'll kind of assess and see as we go," Wilson said. "But we're gonna see how Logan is tomorrow and maybe keep it a little bit shorter. And Bryce, we'll just see how his start continues to go. But I think we're in pretty good shape. I think we feel like we're getting our rotation where we want it to be."
The starting rotation has dealt with its fair share of injuries this season. Kirby, Gilbert and Miller all had respective stints on the injured list. Kirby missed time with right shoulder inflammation, Gilbert was out with a right flexor strain and Miller was on the shelf two separate times due to right elbow inflammation.
The rotation is also one man down at the moment.
Bryan Woo has been nursing right pectoral inflammation since his outing against the Houston Astros on Sept. 19, although the injury isn't considered serious.
With the playoffs around the corner, the team's position secured and the rotation at full strength (when Woo returns), it makes sense for the organization to take the foot off the throttle for the final games of the regular season.
Gilbert will enter his start Saturday with a 3.43 ERA on the season. He's struck out 168 batters in 126 innings pitched across 24 starts.
Miller will take the mound for his outing with a 5.53 ERA. He's fanned 72 batters in 86.1 innings pitched across 17 starts.
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