Logan Gilbert has inconsistent start in opening day Mariners loss

It was an up-and-down outing by Logan Gilbert on Thursday evening, as he showed flashes of brilliance combined with some crucial mistakes.

This is an important season for Logan Gilbert, with him aiming to show how good he is after a 2025 campaign where he struggled for consistent productivity after returning from a right elbow flexor strain. He still has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining, but with a lockout more than likely happening in 2027, this might be the last season to prove his worth prior to becoming a free agent. (Even allowing for the Mariners saying they want to sign him long-term.)

Hopes were high with Gilbert heading into Thursday evening’s opener versus the Guardians, with him usually being lights out in his first start of the season for the Mariners. In fact he’d only once allowed more than one run in any of his previous five first starts of the campaign and that was back in his rookie year of 2021, when he was tagged for four earned runs in his Major League debut, ironically also at home versus Cleveland in a game the M’s lost 4-2.

Omens were there that Thursday night was going to be tough

Maybe that should have been an omen that opening day would not go well for Gilbert and the Mariners, with the team also losing against the Guardians at home in his first start of the 2023 season. Yes the righty had a tremendous outing on that occasion in allowing just one earned run over 6.0 innings, but the M’s still ended up being beaten 2-0.

If you’re of the mind of looking for omens, consider that as strong as Gilbert was overall in Cactus League play, he saved his worst performance for his final outing versus the Angels. He gave up six hits, two walks and two earned runs, while also being charged with a hit by pitch, only lasting 2.2 innings at a point of spring training when starting pitchers are often ramping up their innings count.

Mariners fans don’t need much excuse to fret after decades of heartbreak, and even those who don’t believe in omens must have feared the worst after what transpired just two batters into Thursday evening’s game. Gilbert allowed a solo blast to deep right center by Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter in his first ever Major League at-bat, to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

It was clear from early on that Gilbert did not have command of his slider and it took him 40 pitches to get through the first two innings. However, as the top pitchers manage even when not at their best, he avoided allowing any more runs in that opening salvo and the Mariners still held a 2-1 lead through four innings.

Things appeared okay for Logan Gilbert until the fifth inning

Gilbert seemed to be finding his form as the outing progressed, and his stuff was looking really good, specifically his fastball and splitter. He was on his way to producing 12 whiffs and striking out seven, while also recording no walks, but disaster struck in the top of the fifth.

It started with Gilbert giving up a weak leadoff single followed by a double, to put two runners in scoring position. He did manage to subsequently record his first out of the half inning, but followed this with a mistake on a cutter, which led to a double that gave the Guardians the lead again, this time at 3-2.

That would prove to be it for Gilbert, who had aimed to go at least six innings but ended up being pulled two outs short of this goal. He ended with 59 strikes on 86 pitches on a night when he showed periods of brilliance and dominance, including retiring 11 of 12 batters following the DeLauter home run, but knows that more is still expected of him.

Luke Raley would tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, with the relevance to Gilbert being that he wasn’t tagged with the loss, not that this will have been of any consolation to him. The Guardians regained the lead again in the seventh inning and went on to secure a 6-4 win which was punctuated in the top of ninth by DeLauter’s second home run of a stunning Major League debut when he went 3-for-5 at the plate.

Logan Gilbert mostly good with his outing aside from one regret

Postgame, Gilbert felt pretty good about his outing overall, but acknowledged things got a little away from him in the top of the fifth when, to paraphrase football, it really was a game of inches. He said:

“A couple mistakes, and they took advantage of those. A kind of blooped shot to start it. I made a good pitch, slider down, and he just put a good swing on it, so it was kind of just good pitch, good swing. And then I made a mistake with the cutter, left it down instead of up. So really, out of those three batters, it felt like one pitch I wish I could get back. Unfortunately, that’s the pitch that mattered the most.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson was overall encouraged by Gilbert’s outing, while also acknowledging what happened in the top of the fifth. Wilson said:

“I thought Logan threw the ball very well. I thought he was attacking the zone, was ahead almost all night long. I thought he had a good split, used his fastball well, and we wanted to get him close to 90 pitches. I think we got him to 86. … They just were able to bunch it together, a couple hits there in the one inning, and put a couple runs on the board outside of the solo shot. But overall, I thought getting him close to 90 pitches, and he kept us in the ballgame.”

It’s important not to read too much into anything either way after just one start, but you have to believe that Gilbert is going to be okay based on his talent and track record. Still, you know all eyes will be on him to see how he responds in his next start on Tuesday evening, at home versus the Yankees.

Photos court​‌esy of Mazvita Maraire & Tim Rogers Photography

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