Takeaways From Seattle Mariners History-Making Series Win Against Athletics
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It took three games decided by two runs or less, a heavily-taxed bullpen and some late-game heroics from players either new to the team or scheduled to receive an off-day, but the Seattle Mariners won their ninth-straight series with a 6-5 win against the Athletics on Wednesday.
The win gave the Mariners a 22-14 record on the season, which is the organization's best start through 36 games since the 2003 club, which also started 22-14. Seattle's nine consecutive series wins is most since the 2001 team that tied an MLB-record 116 regular season wins and made the American League Championship Series.
Here's some takeaways from the Mariners' history-making series win against the Athletics:
American League West runs through Seattle
Seattle now has a three-game lead over the Athletics in the American League West. That's the largest margin of separation between any two teams in the division entering Thursday. The Mariners are three games ahead of the Athletics, four games ahead of the Houston Astros and 4.5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers.
Seattle also has been winning games at a much-more comfortable margin than the rest of the division. The Mariners have a +31 run differential entering Thursday, which is almost double the next-highest AL West team in that category (Houston Astros — +16). Every other team in the division has a negative run differential.
Seattle's mark in that category is third in the American League behind the Detroit Tigers (+65) and New York Yankees (+61). It's still early in the year, but for right now the Mariners are on a good trajectory to win their first AL West title since 2001.
Time to be concerned about Bryce Miller?
Through the second half of 2024, Miller was arguably the best pitcher on the Mariners league-best starting rotation. After the All-Star break, Miller had a 1.89 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched across 12 starts. He finished the year with a 2.94 ERA and fanned 171 batters in 180.1 innings pitched across 31 starts.
Miller hasn't been able to maintain that form this season. In seven starts, he has a 4.15 ERA and has struck out 32 batters in 34.1 innings. He's walked 19 batters in 2025, which puts him on pace for roughly 85 walks in 2025. He walked 45 all of 2024.
Bryce Miller, Expelliarmus 84mph Splitter. 🪄 pic.twitter.com/LegCv2EPss
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 22, 2025
Miller had his shortest start of the season against the Athletics on Monday. He threw four innings, struck out one, hit one batter and allowed four earned runs on seven hits (one home run).
Miller has dealt with various nagging ailments this year, but was seemingly healthy for his outing against the A's. He didn't have a good feel for his secondary offerings, which led to a high number of hits and a singular strikeout.
It could simply take Miller a little longer to get going because of the soreness he fought through at the beginning of the year. It could also be a sign of concern if the struggles persist.
Seattle's offense is no fluke
Seattle was consistent against the Athletics. It scored six runs in Game 1 of the series, five in Game 2 and six in Game 3. That series capped off a six-game road trip where the Mariners averaged 5.5 runs a game. The home run wasn't nearly as present as it has been in the early going, but the homers they did hit in Games 2 and 3 were timely.
Julio Rodriguez hit a solo homer in Game 2 to give Seattle an early advantage and Rowdy Tellez hit a there-run homer in Game 3 to pull the Mariners within one run of the A's. The offense was able to secure victories in both games with a combination of singles, doubles and sacrifice flies.
Rowdy time! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/DRFumrZBZt
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 7, 2025
"Scrappy" has been a word that has been used by manager Dan Wilson to describe his offense. Through 36 games, it's no longer a sample size. Seattle's offense is good. And it's capable of winning games in a variety of ways.
Up next
The Mariners will begin a six-game homestead on Friday, with the first of a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:40 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Park.
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