Mariners complete impressive sweep of the Texas Rangers

1) Dunn continues to impress

Critics are quick to point out how Justin Dunn has been unable to pitch at least six innings in any of his starts this year. This proved to be the case again on Saturday night, although at least he matched his season high of 5.2 innings.

However, the reality is that Dunn is having a productive season no matter how much or little time he spends on the mound. In this respect he was excellent against the Rangers, as he only allowed two hits, a couple of walks and one earned run.

The 25-year-old also produced eight strikeouts, which were his second-most this season. He generated 13 called strikes and 16 swinging strikes, which represented 30 percent of his 98 pitches.

On a league-wide level, Dunn is starting to garner attention. Opposing hitters are batting just .168 against him this season, which is second-best in the AL.

In addition, the 2016 first rounder has only twice allowed more than two earned runs so far in 2021. He also has a AL-best run of 15 consecutive starts giving up three or fewer runs.

Dunn displayed his full repertoire of pitches against Texas, but the night was not without its challenges. More specifically, in the fourth inning.

The right-hander allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base, after hitting one and walking another two. However, it is a sign of his maturity that he was able to deal with the bases-loaded situation by minimizing the damage to just one run.

It was intriguing to listen to Dunn explain his mindset of how he bounced back from his issues in the fourth. Speaking to the media after the game, he said:

“I had a little mechanical cue that was off there in the fourth. (I) sat down and kind of went back into my thoughts and had my reset and realized what that was.

“I just got back to attacking the strike zone and pitching first and foremost. I’m glad I was able to find it and get through the fifth there and help us get a little deeper in the game.”

In total, Dunn threw 31 pitches during the fourth inning, thus contributing to him falling agonizingly short of the six-inning mark. It’s tough to complain about this though, when considering how consistent and productive he has become.

The scary thing for opposing batters is that the Freeport, New York native is still not the finished product. His continued growth will be both welcome and needed, in order to provide more overall reliability from the rotation.

NEXT: OTHER NOTES & STATS