By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners sweep Angels thanks to another sterling Bryce Miller start

The Mariners cling on to beat the Angels 1-0, as Bryce Miller continues to make the case that he might now be the rotation’s staff ace.

To some, the thought of Bryce Miller as the Mariners staff ace might seem like a stretch, just based on his unassuming presence and slender build. However, people need to come around to the possibility, because the simple fact is he has been the best member of the rotation this season.

The naysayers may still have trouble comprehending this scenario, in part because of Miller’s career-worst season last year. Or even the fact he has effectively only appeared in half as many games as the rest of the rotation, due to beginning the 2026 campaign on the Injured List with a left oblique strain.

However, the reality is that Miller has easily been the Mariners’ best starter so far this season, highlighted by a tremendous 1.71 ERA and 0.665 WHIP. For some context, the second-best ERA and WHIP in the rotation are both held by Logan Gilbert, at 3.42 and 1.010 respectively.

Bryce Miller looking like Mariners staff ace

Heck, Miller even has a 2.3 bWAR which is best on the pitching staff despite only appearing in nine games, compared to 16/17 outings by the rest of the rotation. For what it’s worth, his ERA would be second among all qualifying pitchers, while his WHIP would be the best.

As bad as Miller was last year during the regular season, a lot of that was down to dealing with lingering right elbow inflammation which had actually started to be an issue towards the end of the 2024 campaign. And yet come the playoffs he displayed his talent and was the team’s best pitcher, highlighted by 6.0 innings of one-run ball in Game 1 of the ALCS versus the Blue Jays on the road.

Anyone still wanting to dispute Miller’s credentials, might contend his positive performances so far this season or during last year’s playoffs both representing small time frames. However, don’t forget that in 2024 he had the best bWAR on the number one statistical rotation in the majors, as he started a career-high 31 games.

Dominance continues in 1-0 win versus the Angels

In any event, the Mariners are just grateful to have Miller, with him continuing his outstanding form on Thursday evening in the home series finale versus the Angels. They only managed two hits on the night but were able to hold on for a 1-0 win, in large part due to the 27-year-old Texas native.

Miller pitched 7.0 scoreless innings, in the process only allowing two hits and no walks, while also striking out eight. As a result, he became the first player in Mariners history to go four consecutive starts with seven+ strikeouts and no walks.

The 2021 fourth round draft pick was literally unhittable through six innings, before giving up a hit in the first at-bat he faced in the seventh. In addition, he is now on a career-long streak of five games with seven+ strikeouts.

It is verging on ridiculous, just how effective Miller has been so far this season. His Baseball Savant page is littered with a bevvy of rankings in the top decile, including the 99th percentile for BB%, 98th percentile for xERA and 97th percentile for both Chase% and Hard-Hit%.

Is an All-Star selection on the horizon?

As a result of Miller’s dominating form there’s even talk of him having a chance at his first ever All-Star selection, not that he’s focusing on this. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com following Thursday’s game, he said:

“After I missed seven starts or whatever to start the year, it hasn’t even crossed my mind. I just kind of figured that I didn’t have a chance. But I mean, if they want to put me in there, I’d be super grateful.”

For Miller, the focus is on finally being healthy and showing what he’s capable of on a more consistent basis. He said:

“I feel like I’m finally pitching like how I felt like I should have been pitching, coming off of the ’24 season. This feels like this is what I’m supposed to do and how I’m supposed to pitch. And so, yeah, it’s been a lot of fun seeing success and having consistent success.”

Dan Wilson full of praise for his righty

Mariners manager Dan Wilson also talked about just how dominant Miller has been, since coming of the Injured list. He said:

“It seems like every time out he’s not given up a hit until about the fourth or fifth inning and that’s just the way he’s throwing the ball right now. He’s really in a groove, he’s really locked in and it’s been outstanding. We talk about all our guys and there’s no doubt that all our guys are capable of that and have done that, but Bryce has been very, very consistent since coming (back).”

Wilson was also asked about Miller’s ability to bounce back from adversity, whether it be his injury issues or being a main component of the piggyback strategy. He said:

“Bryce has been as selfless as the next starter in that group and I think coming back and having a couple piggybacks, he was really able to find that fastball and let it rip and it just continues to be there for him. The secondaries have been really sharp and he just continues to put it together and it’s been very impressive.”

As a whole, the Mariners are still searching for the consistency to match their talent level, as they aim to make good on preseason predictions as a genuine World Series contender. If they can collectively come anywhere near what Miller has achieved so far, the rest of the majors will really have a problem on their hands.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

Discover more from Cascadiasports.net

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply