Mariners complete impressive sweep of the Texas Rangers

2) Bullpen thrives despite absences

For all the unpredictability surrounding the Mariners so far this season, the only certainty has been their bullpen. Pure and simple, this has been the most reliable unit on the roster.

As such, there was understandable panic when one of the relievers tested positive for COVID-19. This initially resulted in Robert Dugger, Anthony Misiewicz, Drew Steckenrider and Will Vest all being placed on the injured list.

Dugger and Misiewicz were subsequnetly activated after testing negative, having both received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, Kendall Graveman was then added to the IL for COVID-related issues.

This was a considerable blow, with Graveman being the best reliever in the bullpen so far in 2021. He has yet to allow a run in 16.2 innings, while also having the best WHIP (0.54) in the AL.

As a result, the Mariners entered the four-game set against the Rangers without three members of their bullpen. However, any concerns about this unit proved to be unfounded for the most part.

Friday night was when the bullpen really showed they are still a strong unit, even without the likes of Graveman. Despite a fine outing by Justus Sheffield, the Mariners were clinging to a 3-2 lead when he left after five innings.

First up was Anthony Misiewicz, who had no issues as he produced a quick 1-2-3 sixth inning courtesy of three strikeouts. It was the third straight appearance where he allowed no hits, as he recorded his team-leading 10th hold of the season.

Next up in the seventh was J.T. Chargois, who came in having allowed only six hits, a walk and three earned runs in 10 appearances this season. He once again excelled, giving up just one walk and no hits.

It wasn’t until the final two innings, when things became really nerve-racking for the Mariners. Keynan Middleton came in for the top of the eighth and started well enough to promptly record the first two outs.

Middleton then started to struggle however, possibly because it was the first time this season he had pitched on consecutive days. Regardless, he allowed a double and then gave up a walk, to put the Rangers in position to take the lead.

At this point Erik Swanson was brought in, to face the dangerous Adolis Garcia. Fortunately for the Mariners, Swanson held his nerve to strike Garcia out.

The right-handed pitcher has been excellent for Seattle this season, although he did have to face a second two-on, two-out situation in the ninth. However, he once again showed his mental fortitude to secure the final out and clinch the win.

Unfortunately for Swanson, his joy was short-lived as he was placed on the 10-day IL the following day with a right groin strain. If nothing else for the Mariners, at least they were able to mitigate this loss to a certain extent by activating Vest from the COVID-related IL.

On Saturday, the bullpen was once again asked to do their bit in a close game. And Rafael Montero did his usual ‘trick’ of causing stress for the fans and his team.

First to the mound was Daniel Zamora, who was called up from Triple-A on May. 27 after recently being claimed off waivers. In his first action for the Mariners he was lights out, allowing no hits, walks or runs in 1.1 innings.

Zamora was followed by Paul Sewald, who produced the same results in one inning of action. Meanwhile, the offense scored two more runs for a 3-1 lead heading into the ninth.

At this point, Montero induced panic for everyone concerned. By allowing two hits and an earned run, the Rangers pulled to within 3-2, before the M’s (current) closer finally secured the win.

Servais defended Montero afterwards, and certainly there have been points during this season when the pitcher has endured some bad luck. When it happens repeatedly however, this is more than just misfortune; the sooner Graveman returns the better.

In the other two games, things were relatively more straightforward for the bullpen – at least in comparison. On Thursday, Montero did allow two hit but ultimately combined with Middleton to blank the Rangers over 2.0 innings.

On Sunday, Chargois, Sewald and Middleton pitched a collective 2.1 innings and allowed no runs. For the series, the bullpen combined for 11.2 innings, eight hits, three walks, 14 strikeouts and — most importantly — just one run.

Servais has understandably been delighted with the bullpen’s play so far this season. Discussing their collective success with the media, he said:

“The thing about our bullpen is they really mesh together. I’ve often talked about it’s kind of that team within the team and if one guy doesn’t have it or a guy needs a night off, somebody else steps up.

“It’s really created awesome opportunities for these different guys to step up in different roles that maybe we didn’t anticipate they would be in. It’ll only help us down the road.

“Eventually we will get these (other) guys back and we’ll have some kind of depth in that bullpen; guys you can use in all different roles. It’s a great luxury to have.”

NEXT: STARTER CONTINUES STREAK