CLEVELAND -- The Mariners are ditching the piggyback, at least for one day.
Opting to, presumably, instead ride Logan Gilbert’s hot hand for Saturday night’s outing against the Guardians, the club announced that it was adjusting its rotation alignment.
Emerson Hancock who was slated to follow Gilbert on Saturday, will now start Sunday’s series finale at Progressive Field. That assignment had been tabbed for George Kirby, who was pushed to Monday, when the Mariners open a three-game series against the Angels at T-Mobile Park.
Saturday’s announcement came a few hours before the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field opened to media. But it seems pretty clear why the decision was made.
Gilbert has been on a roll, leading the Mariners to a 6-0 record over each of his past six starts. During that stretch, he’s averaged just over six innings per outing -- with a 1.49 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP, 43 strikeouts and 10 walks while holding hitters to a .492 OPS. Over his first 10 starts, Gilbert had a 4.45 ERA and was averaging 5 2/3 innings per start.
Had he been in the piggyback, Gilbert would've been capped at five innings, with Hancock slated for the final four.
Gilbert most recently pitched last Sunday in Seattle, as a first-time dad on Father’s Day, meaning that he’s already operating on an extra day of rest.
Hancock, however, last pitched on June 20, which would line him up for a full seven days’ rest -- and an eight-day routine, which is explicitly what the Mariners wanted to avoid when going to a rotation-wide piggyback two weeks ago.
Hancock is coming off his first stretch of consecutive clunkers this season, having given up a combined 11 earned runs across his past two starts (9 1/3 IP). But he was arguably the most consistent of their six starters leading up to that point, with a team-best 2.74 ERA and 8-5 team record. This late change would also give him a full start against a Guardians team that he held hitless with nine strikeouts on March 29.
Gilbert and Hancock would’ve represented the piggyback’s second of three turns through leading into the All-Star break. Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo went first (in a June 19 loss to Boston) and Kirby and Bryan Woo were slated to be the caboose (though when hadn’t yet been announced).
This story will be updated.