PITTSBURGH – In some regards, Bryce Miller pitched about as well Thursday as he has at any point in his four-year career.
Miller racked up 11 strikeouts in just 5 2/3 innings against the Pirates at PNC Park, matching his career high. Yet for all the punchies the 27-year-old racked up, it ultimately didn’t mean much as the Mariners lost, 5-1, and dropped two games in the three-game series.
“It’s a frustrating loss for everybody, that’s for sure,” manager Dan Wilson said.
This has been a frustrating season for the Mariners. Their record is just 41-41 and, though that leads the American League West, they just don’t have the look of a team vowing to take the next step and finally reach the World Series for the first time in the franchise's history, which began in 1977.
Friday was another one of those frustrating days as the Mariners were held to only one run by rookie starter Bubba Chandler and four relievers from a bullpen that has struggled more now than at any point of the season. Seattle stranded 11 runners and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“[We had] some opportunities offensively, where we got guys on base and hit the ball hard, but it would go right at them,” Wilson said. “We hit the ball hard, but we were hitting right at those guys, or they were making great plays. We just couldn’t get those runs in and just weren't able to get back in it. So, it was a tough one today.”
Miller certainly wasn’t frustrated by his dominance, aside from the two home runs he allowed: a solo homer to Brandon Lowe in the first inning that opened the scoring, then a two-run shot by the .148-hitting Henry Davis in the fifth. The second homer staked the Pirates to a 3-0 lead, and even Miller’s top-flight outing wasn’t enough to overcome the anemic hitting.
Other than those two pitches and his record falling to 3-2, Miller was generally happy with the way he pitched. He has a 1.97 ERA is eight games (seven starts) this season. Miller says he and the rest of the pitchers have learned how to cope when they don’t get strong run support.
”We go up under the dugout and into the tunnel,” Miller said. “We don't really pay much attention to the offense. Kind of go in and try to reset after whatever happened the previous inning. If you have a bad inning, just reset, move on, go out and get the next three outs. I hear the noise, but nothing changes if we’re down, 50-0, or tied, 0-0. You’ve got to go out there, do your job, get us back in the dugout as quickly as possible, and see if we can string together some hits."