By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners: 3 takeaways from eventful series win versus Cubs

A look at some key events from the Mariners’ weekend series against a good Cubs team, which seemed to create more headlines than usual.

This has been one of the most bizarre seasons in Mariners history and we say that without any hint of hyperbole. On the one hand they are seven games below .500, dead last in the majors in runs scored per game and have suffered two absolute beatdowns in the last week. At the same time however, they just took a series from an excellent Cubs team with genuine World Series aspirations and closed the gap on the Astros at the top of the AL West, to 3.0 games.

Seriously, it might be tough to find another season in their 50 years, to compare to this one. The Mariners are a disappointing 62-69 with 31 games remaining, yet FanGraphs still gives them the ninth-best odds to win the World Series (albeit at just 3.4 percent). Let’s take a look at just three key events of many, from the weekend series win versus the Cubs:

1) A double dose of walk-off magic

Facing a tremendous Cubs team with a 36-27 record on the road was always going to need something special to happen, in order for the Mariners to win the series. And wouldn’t you know that’s exactly what did happen, as the M’s produced not one, but two walk-off wins over the weekend. The two heroes in question were Leo Rivas and Randy Arozarena, who’ve had widely contrasting levels of success this season, but for one weekend at least were linked together.

Rivas has endured the worst year of his three seasons to date in the majors, as a negative bWAR player who’s hitting under .150. He came into Friday’s series opener with just three plate appearances in the last 12 games, and didn’t enter the game until the bottom of the eighth, as a pinch-runner for Taylor Ward. Yet there he was two innings later in a tied game, with two outs and two men on base.

Rivas wasn’t fazed though, as he subsequently singled a line drive to centerfield to bring Arozarena home from third base for the 6-5 walk-off win. It was a much-needed moment for both player and team, to give them life and more confidence in what has been such a challenging season. And there was a certain poetry in Arozarena being the one to cross home plate for the winning run, given what he would do in the following game.

Arozarena has been the most consistent offensive threat for the Mariners this season, but he outdid himself on Saturday night, starting with giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on his first swing of the game. He then robbed Miguel Amaya of a certain home run in the top of the third, pretty damn good for a player not exactly known for his strong defense. Still, the Mariners entered the bottom of the ninth staring defeat in the face as they trailed 4-2.

That man Rivas actually got things going by hitting an RBI single to pull the Mariners to within 4-3, but Arozarena still faced a two-out situation when he came up to the plate. However, if there’s one player who has proved he can produce in the big moments — look no further than his playoff exploits in 2020 — it’s the three-time All-Star. And he subsequently delivered with a two-run blast to secure a 5-4 win which sent the 45,681 inside T-Mobile Park into a frenzy and kept the M’s unlikely playoff push alive.

2) Kade Anderson shows what all the hype was about

The anticipation surrounding Kade Anderson’s Major League debut on Saturday night couldn’t have been much more intense. Helping create the atmosphere was the fact the game was being nationally televised, along with him facing a Cubs team which was first in the majors in OPS versus left-handed pitching. It’s fair to say he dealt with the pressure well, considering the situation.

In fairness, Anderson has already developed a reputation for remaining calm in high profile situations, highlighted by being named College World Series Most Outstanding Player last year. And through 5.0 innings against the Cubs you couldn’t have asked for more, as he allowed just two hits, a couple of walks and one earned run. This would have been a good time to take him out, as he was at 72 pitches, hadn’t thrown more than 80 all season and had rarely gone through an opposing lineup three times.

In addition, the Cubs had a .826 OPS on the season when facing starters the third time around. However, whether it be because of how good Anderson had been up to this point, wanting to get him a quality start, concerns about the bullpen, or something else, he came out for the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, the result was three more hits and two solo blasts by the Cubs, to give them a 3-2 advantage.

Anderson was finally replaced by Carlos Vargas, one out short of getting his quality start. In some respects we do feel that Dan Wilson was put in a tough, almost no-win situation, in terms of what he should have done with last year’s third overall draft pick after 5.0 innings. Ultimately though, there was more than enough shown on the day to prove the Mariners have a special pitcher on their hands, more than capable of eventually becoming the staff ace.

3) Time for Mariners to save Bryce Miller from himself

At one point this season, Bryce Miller was arguably the best starter in the Mariners rotation, with a 1.71 ERA and 0.66 WHIP through nine appearances. Then it started to go wrong and since then he has produced a shocking 7.19 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in his past eight starts, all of which have contributed towards M’s losses. And it’s been particularly ugly his last two times out, against the Brewers in a franchise record 22-0 loss and then Sunday’s series finale versus the Cubs, which resulted in a 19-2 thrashing.

On what was Miller’s birthday, it couldn’t have gone much worse for him, as he allowed a career-worst seven walks and labored through 4.1 innings and threw a season-high 104 pitches. In yet another example of this bizarre season, he only actually allowed two hits, but both resulted in home runs, including a grand slam by Ian Happ to give the Cubs a lead they would not relinquish.

It was clear from early on that Miller just didn’t have it, but the Mariners’ hand was forced by having a thin bullpen on the day. This meant trying to keep him out there as long as possible, despite twice loading the bases and ultimately giving up a season-high six earned runs. As per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, the result was becoming the first pitcher in the modern era (beginning in 1901), to have his team lose by 15+ runs in back-to-back starts.

It was unnerving how gassed Miller looked on the day, and postgame he admitted he has also been dealing with a lat issue for about a month. Pending an update on Bryce Woo’s own recent injury concern, it’s time for Miller to be taken out of the rotation, whether it be to go in the bullpen or place him on the IL. No one denies his talent, but things can’t go on like this, for him or the team.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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