Mariners vs. Astros: 3 takeaways from first home series of 2022

3) Matt Brash gets the win despite location issues:

When Matt Brash made his Major League debut it was almost ideal, with just two hits and one earned run allowed through five innings. ‘Almost’ proved to be the key word though, as he allowed a further two hits and another earned run in the sixth, to end his day and ultimately take the loss.

Sunday against the Astros proved to an entirely different outing for Brash, and not just because the 7-2 victory resulted in him securing his first ever Major League win. In many ways it was almost (there’s that word again) a surreal experience.

On the one hand, the 23-year-old carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, before eventually giving up a couple of hits and two earned runs to end his day. On the flip side, he gave up six walks; to provide some context to this his previous career high was four walks, and this was in the Minors.

Further adding to the surreal nature of the afternoon for Brash, he threw first pitch strikes versus 13 of the 21 batters he faced and notched six strikeouts. And yet, nearly half of his 85 pitches were balls (41).

Astros manager Dusty Baker came up with the perfect description for the young pitcher’s performance, in calling him effectively wild. His velocity was close to 100 mph and he was able to get out of several tough situations by throwing pitches which resulted in double plays.

Brash discussed his location issues with the media after the game. He said:

“Obviously, I wasn’t throwing as many strikes as I would like to and they weren’t chasing breaking balls, because I didn’t show that I could throw for a strike. That’s where I was struggling the most.

“It was just all a feel thing for me. For some reason, at the beginning of the game I was just struggling throwing strikes with offspeed. It’s going to happen. It was a little chilly out there. I thought the balls were a little slick, so it just took me a while.”

A couple of other things which stood out, included how impressed and excited Brash’s teammates were with his pitches. The other was his continued confidence despite the location issues, especially important when considering the quality of the opponent.

In this respect, Brash welcomed the opportunity to repeatedly square up again with the Astros, both this season and beyond. He said:

“I’m glad I faced these teams, man. It’s really cool to see my stuff against these guys. I watched a lot of these hitters when I was growing up, so it’s really fun to just compete against these guys. I’m just looking forward to each and every next step.”

NEXT: NOTES, STATISTICS & QUOTE OF THE SERIES