You might think it's the offense, or the bullpen, but it's not. It's actually the starting rotation.
After a thrilling 5-4 win against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night, the Seattle Mariners enter play on Tuesday at 17-19 overall.
The win against the Braves snapped a horrific three-game losing streak in which the Mariners were swept at home by the Kansas City Royals.
There were plenty of heroes in the contest, from Luke Raley and JP Crawford to Jose Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo and Andres Munoz.
That group helped cover up for the absences of Gabe Speier and Matt Brash, who are on the injured list out of the bullpen, and Cal Raleigh, who has missed three straight games with right side discomfort.
The Mariners are clearly in gut check mode, missing two of their three best relievers, their most powerful offensive player and Brendan Donovan, who is also in the injured list. While the bullpen seems like the biggest pressure spot for this roster given who's not there, I would contend it's actually the starting rotation as a result.
I discussed further on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast on Tuesday.
"I also want to give credit to Logan Gilbert. We can talk about the amount of hard-hit balls—it’s too many. We can talk about the home runs—it’s too many. But at the end of the day, he gave this team six innings, and that is really important, especially for a player that we have criticized for not being able to go deep enough into games and not being able to be more efficient with his pitch count.
He went six innings. The Mariners desperately needed it. Look, the Mariners’ bullpen is about as thin as I can remember it right now. The Mariners are down to three ,what we think, are leverage relievers: Andrés Muñoz, Eduard Bazardo, and José Ferrer. You have three guys you feel you can count on for innings seven, eight, and nine.
Logan Gilbert got them to seven, eight, and nine. He deserves credit for that. The best way to handle a thin bullpen is to not need to lean on it. The best way to avoid some of the questionable or inexperienced spots in your bullpen is for your starter to go six, to go seven, to turn it over to the guys who you think you can trust.
And that is what Logan Gilbert did. Credit to him. Again, survive and advance."
Until the Mariners are healthy, this has to be the mindset. The rotation has to be able to carry some serious innings and limit the bullpen's exposure if the Mariners are going to survive until Brash and Speier are back.
The Mariners and Braves will play again on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. PT. George Kirby will be tasked with trying to get the Mariners deep into the game.
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