Seattle Mariners' Logan Gilbert Addresses Possibility of Being Opening Day Starter
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Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert took the ball on Monday as the Mariners traveled to Maryvale to take on the Milwaukee Brewers in Cactus League play.
Gilbert had an up-and-down performance in his first outing of the spring, getting charged with two earned runs in 1+ inning of work. He walked two and struck out three. The runs scored after he left in the bottom of the second. He walked the leadoff batter in each of the first two innings, but also struck out the side in the first after the walk.
That Gilbert got the start on Monday was notable, given that he is the first of the M's five starters to see the game mound. That would theoretically give him a leg up in the battle to be the team's Opening Day starter, though manager Dan Wilson was non-committal when meeting with the media Monday morning.
After his outing, Gilbert addressed the possibility:
Yeah, it'd be awesome if it happened, but, I mean, we have five opening day starters, so I don't think anybody should get their feelings hurt, because on different teams, we would probably all start the first day. So, it's a huge honor to whoever gets it. Obviously, Castillo, being the veteran, is very, very deserving, but every time I'm out there in spring, I feel like I've got to prove myself all over again, so don't want to get ahead of myself.
Gilbert was just 9-12 last season, but that was more a product of the M's anemic offense than it was his performance. He had a 3.23 ERA, made 33 starts and struck out 220 batters in his 208.2 innings. He led baseball in innings pitched and made his first All-Star team.
He pairs with (Luis) Castillo, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, and Bryce Miller to make up, perhaps, the best rotation in all of baseball.
The Mariners will play the Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon. Opening Day is March 27.
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