Mason Miller Is Approaching A Franchise Record As He Extends His Scoreless Streak

San Diego Padres are now trying not to yawn at this sort of thing, but mason Miller pitched another scoreless inning in last night’s 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners, and he’s now closing in on the franchise record, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. 

Miller pitched a clean ninth inning as he followed starter Michael King and relievers Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam, and we’re almost disappointed now when he doesn’t strike out the side, with last night’s save featuring “only” one strikeout. It was Miller’s fifth save of the season. 

His streak is now at 29-2/3 innings, and it’s still the longest active streak in MLB. Miller is also just four innings shy of Cla Meredith’s franchise record of 33-2/3 innings, and he’s just a third of an inning from moving into a tie for second with Randy Jones, who passed away in November at the age of 75. 

Leveling up with and passing Jones is especially meaningful for manager Crain Stammen, who got to know Jones well during his own stint as a Padres reliever, according to Cassavell.

“It’s fun for Mason Miller to be in the same breath as Randy Jones,” said Stammen. “He’s one of the greatest pitchers in Padres history. And Mason’s right there with him.”

Ironically, the only player who’s even gotten a hit off Miller during his streak is Luis Arraez, the former Padre who signed with the San  Francisco Giants during the offseason as a free agent. Miller has faced 27 hitters so far this season and struck out 20 of them, which adds up to a ridiculous strikeout rate of 74 percent. 

Two Mariners put the ball in play last night, as Randy Arozarena flied to right and J.P. Crawford grounded out to second, so Miller wasn’t quite up to his usual high standards. 

“Only struck out one guy tonight,” Stammen joked. “Down night for him, I guess. Three days off, maybe a little rust -- nah, he’s good. We feel very good when he’s coming in in the ninth.”

What was just as meaningful last night was the performers of the two receivers who proceeded Miller after King left the game. Adam and Morejon both pitched clean innings, and lining them up back-to-back is probably going to be Stammen’s preferred order to get to Miller. Morejon has been scuffling lately, and Adam is returning from surgery to repair a torn quad, so getting them right and managing their workload is a priority for the Padres going forward.