Mariners beat Braves 2-1 behind walk-off homer from Mitch Garver

Bryce Miller leads the way for the Seattle Mariners on a night when hits were at a premium, helping them beat the best team in the Majors.

The Seattle Mariners have been on a roll of late, recovering from a 6-10 start to the season to win nine of their previous 12 games. As a result, they entered Monday night leading their division, albeit the AL West has been underwhelming up to this point of the 2024 campaign.

Regardless, Monday’s game represented an early test of how good the Mariners have been of late. That’s because they were facing the Atlanta Braves, who entered the contest leading the Majors with a 19-7 record.

The biggest challenge for the Mariners was trying to find a way to manufacture runs, with them ranked near the bottom in scoring. It was going to take another elite effort from their pitching staff, which was — as per usual — one of the very best in the Majors.

Garver finally delivers

In the end the Mariners had to rely on this usual formula, as they squeaked past the Braves with a tight 2-1 victory. And the win came courtesy of a walk-off two-run homer by Mitch Garver in the bottom of the ninth.

It represented a much-need hit for Garver, who has the poorest batting average among all Mariners regular starters in the lineup. This was not what was expected by the ball club’s marquee offseason signing, expected to finally stabilize the DH position.

Regardless, the 2019 Silver Slugger came through when desperately needed, to win the game with just the Mariners’ fourth hit of the night. Speaking postgame to the media, he said:

“That was pretty special for me. And in a time where things aren’t going my way and I’m not feeling quite like myself, to be able to come through for the team in any way, shape or form, is a huge W.”

The elation of the walk-off hit was in stark contrast to just an inning earlier, which the Mariners had entered without a hit. They had then gone on to break the drought and load the bases, but ultimately were unable to capitalize with even one run.

Miller excels once more

That the Mariners were even in position to still have a chance to win, came down to an exceptional effort on the mound by Bryce Miller. He was quite simply sensational, as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Miller admitted that he was aware of the potential no-hitter as the game progressed, but didn’t allow it to dominate his thoughts. Speaking to the media, he said:

“It’s in the back of your mind, but I’m just trying to go one pitch, one at-bat, one inning at a time.”

Miller was locked in from the word go with his location, as 64 of his 97 pitches went for called strikes. He pitched 7.0 innings in total, allowing just two hits and one earned run in his final inning, striking out 10 and only giving up one walk.

The 25-year-old was able to rely on his primary strength, as he showed a lot of his fastball. He said:

“I’m at my best when I attack with the heater, and then they have to adjust to the other stuff. … If it’s working early, we’re going to keep going with it and try to adjust as the game goes, but you could tell early it was working, so we stuck with it.”

Miller had a productive first season in the Majors, and so far looks even better in 2024 as arguably the Mariners’ second-best starter in the rotation behind Logan Gilbert. Following Monday night’s game he is 3-2 in six starts, in the process producing a 2.04 ERA, 3.81 FIP and 0.877 WHIP.

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Mariners pitching outstanding overall

After Miller left the game, the Mariners bullpen took over and finished the strong pitching effort. Cody Bolton and Austin Voth both threw one scoreless inning each, as they combined for four strikeouts while allowing no walks and just one hit.

The Mariners pitching has been phenomenal up to this point of the season and fans will be hoping it can continue, as they take aim at returning to the playoffs. Following Monday’s slate of games, they are ranked third in the Majors with a team 3.03 ERA, as well as first with a 1.03 WHIP and .209 batting average.

Of note, Jarred Kelenic had one of the Braves’ three hits on the night. It was Kelenic’s first time back in Seattle, since he was surprisingly traded to the Braves during the offseason.

Overall, Garver was just happy for the team as a whole to get the win, although he was probably also delighted that he managed to make a significant contribution. He said:

“It was really a relief that the game was over. I mean, we had an opportunity. We had plenty of opportunities to score in that game.”

The Mariners will send Luis Castillo to the mound on Tuesday night, as they take aim at winning the Braves series with a game to spare. Castillo has managed to recover from going 0-4 in his first four starts and will be hoping to make it three wins in a row.

What was your main takeaway from Monday night’s game in Seattle? How confident are you about the Mariners being able to win at least one more game and clinch the Braves series? Let us know in the comments section below.