Mariners Need Bryce Miller’s Biggest Adjustment to Stick Against Rangers

The Mariners tried to make Bryce Miller’s job smaller, but they never got the chance. Seattle moved Miller to the bullpen on Aug. 28, hoping a shorter assignment would help him regain his command and confidence. Unfortunately, just two days later, Emerson Hancock landed on the IL, shoving Miller right back into the rotation. He never made the relief appearance the Mariners planned, and the reset existed mostly as a conversation.

Now Miller gets his second start since that reversal when the Mariners host the Rangers at 6:40 p.m. PT tonight at T-Mobile Park. Texas tagged him for five earned runs in July, so we’re about whether he found an adjustment while the Mariners’ original plan fell apart.

Bryce Miller May Have Found His Reset Without the Cutter

Miller’s final start before the bullpen decision was rough. He walked seven against the Cubs and allowed six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. That came five days after Milwaukee roughed him up for five earned runs.

Both blowouts were full-team failures. Miller’s command still required attention. One pitch stood out. Miller threw 15 cutters against Chicago. In his next start at Boston, he didn’t throw a single one.

The disappearance of that pitch may play a big role going forward. Opponents have slugged .875 against Miller’s cutter this season, and the pitch has failed to produce a strikeout in 20 plate appearances. Hitters have punished it without Miller receiving anything in return.

Shelving it was long overdue. Miller replaced those cutters by leaning more heavily on his slider, sinker and splitter. The result was a cleaner outing. He allowed one earned run, seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. The length wasn’t there, but it’s still progress. The case remains open heading into his matchup against Texas.

Seven hits in fewer than five innings doesn’t tell us this thing is done. And three strikeouts don’t suggest Miller was overpowering batters with spin like he used to. Seattle’s offense gave him breathing room in an 8-3 victory. Miller kept the game under control long enough for the lineup to do the rest, and the bullpen took the game over the finish line.

The dramatic pitch-mix change still gives us something tangible to follow. Miller removed the pitch producing his ugliest results.

The Rangers Are the Right Team to Test Miller’s Adjustment

The Rangers have already shown Miller they can get to him. On July 24, they put up five earned runs against him over 5 1/3 innings. Wyatt Langford, who has torched the Mariners in T-Mobile Park, homered on a splitter. Jake Burger took a 96 mph four-seamer deep and Miller finished without recording a single strikeout.

That was the beginning of the version of Miller the Mariners eventually tried to remove from their rotation. Tonight offers a clean rematch at T-Mobile Park, where Miller has produced a 3.14 ERA and 0.88 WHIP this season. His road ERA sits at 4.69, with opponents carrying an .815 OPS against him away from Seattle. The home numbers provide some encouragement. His previous T-Mobile Park appearance provides a warning that the seven-walk Cubs disaster can happen, too.

Miller also has gone nine consecutive starts without completing a quality start. His last came July 2, when he delivered seven scoreless innings against the Angels. The Boston performance stopped some of the bleeding without answering the durability question.

Woo’s eight scoreless innings Sunday and Monday’s off-day leave Seattle with a rested bullpen. Six innings from Miller would still mean far more than another encouraging four-inning performance.

We’ve seen Miller at his best. The 2024 version may not walk through the door tonight, and that’s the reality of where he is. Keeping the cutter shelved and commanding his secondary pitches would still represent another meaningful step toward becoming that pitcher again.

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