Mariners given a wake-up call with sweep by the Blue Jays

The Mariners saw their run of nine consecutive series wins ended emphatically, with the sweep also highlighting concerns about the rotation.

The Seattle Mariners entered their weekend series versus the Toronto Blue Jays in good spirits, fuelled by a 22-14 record. It marked the M’s best record through 36 games to start a season since 2003, and their third-best record overall to begin the year in franchise history.

In addition, the Mariners had won nine consecutive series for the first time since a franchise record 15 straight series between July 27-Sept. 18 in 2001. Unfortunately for the team, any chance at edging closer to that record 15 in a row was brutally ended by their Canadian rivals, as the Blue Jays swept them in Seattle for the first time since 1991.

The Mariners offense had been on a tear ahead of the series versus the Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park. They were first in the majors in walk-rate, tied-fourth in home runs, sixth in OPS, tied-fifth in stolen bases, second in wRC+ and — most importantly — tied-seventh in scoring.

However, the lineup took a step back over the weekend with just a combined seven runs in the three games. Even worse though, the series highlighted the ongoing collective issues for a rotation which was the best in the majors last season, but now a shadow of its former self.

Mariners rotation not at the races

It really is stunning to see how far the Mariners rotation has fallen, albeit not helped by injuries to two of their mainstays in Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. Irrespective, following the Blue Jays series they are now ranked a lowly tied-23rd in team ERA, 17th in batting average and strikeouts, as well as 21st in WHIP.

Luis Castillo is continuing on from last season in looking like a shadow of his former self, while Logan Evans is clearly not a sustainable option in the rotation. However, most of the concern from the weekend series centers around Bryce Miller, who is theoretically meant to be a mainstay for the long-term in Seattle.

It’s no secret that Miller has been dealing with arm soreness and back tightness ever since the beginning of the 2025 season. Those same issues continued on Sunday in the series finale against the Blue Jays, resulting in his worst outing yet this year.

When it was all said and done the 26-year-old had allowed a season-high eight hits and equalled a career-worst of seven earned runs. He also allowed two walks, as he was tagged with his fourth loss of the season.

It’s still (relatively) early in the season, but it’s worth noting Miller is currently projected to have career-highs of a 5.22 ERA, 4.00 FIP and 1.538 WHIP. He also has a -0.2 WAR, which is in stark contrast to his team-leading 3.4 from last season.

Bryce Miller surprised by how Sunday played out

Of particular frustration for the righty, he had actually entered Sunday’s contest feeling like he was going to be just fine. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:

“I felt good going into the game, obviously, and just kind of third or fourth inning, I kind of had some stuff that didn’t feel good and didn’t feel normal, like I have in the past. I don’t know. I don’t want to say too much on it.”

While it’s understandable that Miller doesn’t want to say too much, the concern surrounding his health is genuinely concerning. We’re at a point now where you can make the case that he needs to be given some time off to rest his body.

This concern has only grown, with the 2021 fourth round draft pick confessing his injury issues actually go back as far as the conclusion of the previous year. He said:

“I’ve had multiple things that kind of have lingered since, really, the end of last season, and I kind of took them through the offseason. I thought that I’d be feeling good, and I haven’t felt like myself, body-wise and physically. I think that’s led to being more on my heels mentally, and it just kind of snowballed.”

One look at Miller’s Baseball Savant page gives you more insight into just how much he’s struggled so far in 2025, littered with poor MLB percentile rankings. His walk-rate is double his career average, while his fastball which he relies so much on has dropped in average velocity from 95.2 mph last season to 94.4 mph so far this year.

A different approach against the Blue Jays

The Mount Pleasant, Texas native looked to overcome his tentative approach in recent starts, by applying a more aggressive mindset on Sunday. He said:

“Whenever you’re struggling, it’s hard to stay off of your heels. And I think the past few weeks, I’ve been pitching on my heels, and from the get-go. I think that was what I wanted to change today. It was to get ahead and be aggressive and attack. I was happy with how I did that, just not happy with the results, obviously.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson was encouraged by what Miller did against the Blue Jays, even if the end product was still left wanting. Also speaking to the media, Wilson said:

“He’s made some adjustments. I thought today, again, the way his mindset was, I thought he attacked much better today, and was getting ahead at a better rate, and I thought the (secondary pitches) were better. I think there are some things he can take from this one and continue to build.”

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Bryce Miller can’t carry on like this

We appreciate that the Mariners might be loathe to rest Miller right now, at least while they are still without both Gilbert and Kirby. However, his issues are clearly not going away and will likely only get worse if nothing changes soon.

With the Mariners having a day off on Thursday following the New York Yankees, perhaps this could be used as an opening to have Miller miss at least one start and see if this helps him in some manner. In truth we don’t envision the team doing this, but the situation cannot carry on indefinitely, as he said:

“In the past, it felt like I could get through six innings, it’s a breeze. I’d feel as good as I do in the sixth as I did in the first. And it’s been a struggle to have that feeling so far. So I don’t know.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

From your perspective, is the sweep by the Blue Jays just a temporary blip by the Mariners, or does it allude to potentially bigger issues moving forward? Let us know in the comments section below.