Behind Bryce Miller’s strong debut, M’s offense mounts late rally to edge A’s, 2-1
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Mariners got just about everything they could have hoped for from Bryce Miller in his major-league debut.
Then they got just enough (at just the right time) from their offense to avoid what would have been their most embarrassing setback of the season.
AJ Pollock broke up Oakland’s no-hit bid with a solo home run with one out in the eighth inning, and Jarred Kelenic drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double, lifting the Mariners to a 2-1 comeback victory over the A’s on Tuesday night before an announced crowd of 2,583 at the Oakland Coliseum.
Miller, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander called up from Class AA earlier in the day, was masterful in his debut, striking out 10 and taking a perfect game into the sixth inning.
“Obviously the stage was bigger, but I think the atmosphere kind of helped me ease into it,” Miller said after a messy postgame beer shower from teammates that also included a mixture of peanut butter, ice cream and toothpaste.
“I had a lot of fun,” he added. “I just went out and threw.”
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Oakland’s own rookie right-hander, Mason Miller, was just a little better, holding the Mariners hitless through seven innings in just the third major-league start of his career.
It wasn’t until the A’s turned to their bullpen in the eighth that the Seattle offense finally got moving.
Oakland left-hander Richard Lovelady left an 89-mph fastball in the heart of the plate, and Pollock did exactly what he should with that pitch — crushing it out of the park to left field at 107 mph off the bat.
It was the first home run of the season from a Mariners designated hitter and, more significantly, it broke up the no-hitter and tied the score at 1-1.
Mariners rookie second baseman Jose Caballero followed with a double down the left-field line.
With two outs, Kelenic drove a 94-mph inside fastball from reliever Jeurys Familia down the right-field line to score Caballero for the go-ahead run.
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That saved Bryce Miller from what would have been a hard-luck loss in his debut.
Bryce Miller’s final line: 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 0 walks and 10 strikeouts. He touched 97 mph with his fastball, effectively mixing in three varieties of his slider and throwing one changeup (which got him a strike-three looking for the first out of the sixth).
“I threw a lot of fastballs, and they weren’t hitting them. So I kept throwing ’em,” he said. “Everything felt good. The fastball was good. The change, all the sliders. I was happy with it.”
During one stretch, from the first inning through the second, he struck out five consecutive A’s batters.
His 10 strikeouts are the most ever for a pitcher in his Mariners debut.
“Unbelievable performance tonight by Bryce Miller. As calm, cool as any young player I’ve ever seen getting the opportunity to start his first major-league game,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ” … His fastball has all kinds of life on it, and the swing-and-miss that that can bring. Can’t ask for much more. That was some kind of shot in the arm. It was just awesome.”
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Second baseman Tony Kemp, one of the few veterans on this A’s roster, broke up Bryce Miller’s perfect-game bid with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning on a single up the middle.
Kemp advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored the A’s lone run on Esteury Ruiz’s sharp two-out double down the left-field line.
Bryce Miller came back to strike out Ryan Noda swinging through a 95-mph fastball for the last out of the sixth. It was the 81st and final pitch of the night.
The Mariners (13-16), on the heels of series losses in Philadelphia and Toronto to start this never-ending road trip, know they need a bounce-back, feel-good performance here against a young Oakland team that came into Tuesday with a 6-23 record.
Just how bad are the A’s? Those 23 losses were the most-ever for a major-league team in April, and 30 games into the season they still don’t have a win from one of their starting pitchers.
They almost had one Tuesday.
Mason Miller, a 6-foot-5 right-hander selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, was making his third major-league start. In seven innings, he held the Mariners hitless, walking four and striking out six. He was pulled after throwing 100 pitches.
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Bryce Miller, a 6-foot-2 right-hander selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, was making his debut after four uneven starts for Class AA Arkansas this season.
It was the first time since May 31, 1979, that an MLB starting pitcher made his debut against a starting pitcher with the same last name (when Detroit’s Pat Underwood debut against his brother, Toronto’s Tom Underwood).
Justin Topa pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Mariners, striking out Ryan Noda for the final out of the inning to strand the tying run at second base.
Paul Sewald closed it out for the Mariners with his eighth save of the season.
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Source: The Seattle Times
