Emerson Hancock holds Guards to one run on Sunday

We need to come up with a better term than piggybacking. Seriously. Gilbert takes the ball for a traditional start with Hancock doing the same for Sunday’s series finale. The decision pushes George Kirby back to Monday’s opener against the Angels. The whole Mariners rotation situation is challenging to understand and remains a massive headache for fantasy managers. There have to be some changes coming from a personnel standpoint after next month’s All-Star break because this seems too chaotic to work as a strategic approach for an extended period.

Gilbert has been outstanding as of late, while Hancock has scuffled over his past two outings. The Mariners will be rotating hurlers in their piggyback situation rather than going to a six-man rotation for the foreseeable future, and it’s less than ideal from a fantasy perspective.

Hancock had a 2.70 ERA in his seven home starts this season before his latest mediocre effort tonight. He allowed a season high six runs to the Nationals last Sunday, and the five runs he gave up tonight are two more than he’d allowed in any of his previous starts in Seattle. He might be on his way to being droppable in mixed leagues, but he does have a relatively generous assignment next week in Cleveland against the José Ramírez-less Guardians.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.

Hancock struck out two and didn’t walk anyone, increasing his ERA to 3.28. He gave up a solo homer to James Wood in the first and later unraveled, allowing five earned in the fourth. The right-hander has been fantastic in 2026, but he was due for some regression. That it came against the highest-scoring offense in MLB isn’t a surprise. Hancock has allowed more than three earned runs in a start just twice this year, including Sunday, a season-high in runs allowed. Seattle continues to have some of the best starting pitching depth in the majors, and Hancock will look to bounce back at home against the Red Sox next time out.

Hancock struck out three, issued two walks and hit one batter. A third-inning sacrifice fly from Pete Alonso was the lone blemish through five frames. It wasn’t a dominant performance, but it was good enough to pick up a win and lower his ERA to a sparkling 2.74 mark through 75 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 12 of his 13 starts this season. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road tilt against the Nationals on Sunday.

Hancock never pitched with a man on base; he gave up two solo homers and retired the other 18 batters he faced. Hancock allowed only one homer in five starts last month before Jared Young and Marcus Semien got to him tonight. He left down 2-1 but avoided taking the loss after the Mariners tied things up in the seventh. Hancock has four wins and eight quality starts in 12 tries. He’ll face the Tigers on Sunday.

Hancock dominated the A’s in Sacramento, giving up just one hit and two walks over six shutout frames. He tossed 56 of 87 pitches for strikes and collected three strikeouts while generating six groundouts. The 25-year-old right-hander is in the midst of a breakout campaign, posting a 2.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 63/15 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings. Hancock will look to keep it going against the Mets in Seattle on Monday.

Hancock surrendered five hits, including RBI singles to Andrew Benintendi and Munetaka Murakami, over five solid frames. He finished with four strikeouts and also issued three walks. The 26-year-old breakout sensation has completed five frames in each of his 10 starts, while allowing three runs or fewer nine times during that span. He’ll try to keep the momentum going when he faces the Athletics in hitter-friendly West Sacramento on Tuesday.

Hancock gave up 11 hard-hit balls, but the Padres managed only four singles and a double against him. It was a performance worthy of a win, but since the Mariners failed to score in the 2-0 loss, Hancock dropped to 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA. He’ll make his next start Wednesday at home against the White Sox.