Logan Gilbert gives up four runs in loss to Rays

He struck out five. Gilbert struggled a bit to get through five with a nice lead, but did wind up picking up his third straight win and 11th overall. Gilbert had excellent velocity all night and ended the outing with a 40 percent CSW on the 50 fastballs he threw. Depending on whether the Mariners want to use six starters this week, Gilbert will either face the Blue Jays on Sunday or the Red Sox next Monday.

Despite being given a seven-run lead after the second inning, Gilbert struggled with his efficiency in this one. Nothing came easy as his fastball didn’t force a single swing-and-miss and he didn’t have a single clean inning. This was the second time in his last three starts where he’s walked four batters after not walking more than two since March. Hopefully he can get himself back ahead of a two-start week against the Phillies and Blue Jays.

Gilbert scattered four hits on the afternoon while allowing only one base on balls. The Mariners provided him with just one run of support in this one and he did his part to make sure that it was enough to hold up. The 29-year-old hurler generated 15 swings and misses on 95 offerings on the day — seven on his splitter — while registering a CSW of 31 percent. He’ll look to replicate this brilliant outing as he carries a 3.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 152/33 K/BB ratio (145 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s showdown against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The Mariners just don’t score much for Gilbert or for anyone, in general. This is the third time this season in which Gilbert has allowed exactly two runs. Somehow, he’s 0-3 in those starts. He’ll likely face the Yankees next Thursday.

Gilbert was drilled just below his right knee by a 107-mph comebacker on the final play of the fourth. He stayed in afterwards, but after four scoreless frames, he allowed single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh, with two of those coming on homers. Gilbert departed a tie game, so he remained 8-6 on the season. The Mariners, though, went on to improve to 14-8 in his starts. He’ll face the Rays next weekend.

Gilbert didn’t allow much hard contact today, but the five hits he surrendered were bunched up; he allowed two to produce a run in the first and three, along with a walk, in a two-run fourth. It’s the first time in eight starts that Gilbert failed to complete six innings. He remained 8-6 with a 3.44 ERA, but the Mariners did improve to 13-8 in his outings. He’ll face the Twins next weekend.

Gilbert gave up three hits, including a homer, in a two-run first and then just one more over his remaining five innings. The 10 strikeouts matched his season high established last month against the Orioles. He’s 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA in his last 10 starts, and he’s up to 10th in the majors with 129 strikeouts on the season. He’ll pitch in Texas next weekend.

Gilbert retired 22 of 23 batters, and Cole Wilcox was a perfect 5-for-5 after coming on in an 11-0 game. Gilbert, originally due to piggyback with Emerson Hancock today, seemed pleased to have the start entirely to himself. His velocity was again up; he’s come in at 96.8, 97.1 and 97.0 mph with his fastball in his last three starts after averaging 95.5 mph in his first 15 outings. He got 18 whiffs today, including 12 with the fastball, and he allowed just three hard-hit balls. The win makes him 7-5 with a 3.19 ERA. He’s fourth in the majors with a 0.95 WHIP and tied for 12th with 114 strikeouts. He’ll get the Rays in his final start before the break.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Mariners are abandoning their ill-fated piggyback experiment with Gilbert making his usual start before Emerson Hancock takes the ball against Toronto on Sunday. It doesn’t sound like the organization has any plans to continue the unorthodox arrangement beyond the All-Star break, especially with the trade deadline looming and top prospects like Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan looking like they could pitch in the majors down the home stretch. Hopefully this is the last time fantasy managers need to incorporate the phrase piggyback into our vocabulary.

It sounds like the Mariners will continue with this odd piggybacking arrangement through the All-Star break to keep all six of their starters happy. That means George Kirby will start on Sunday with Bryan Woo set to take the ball for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins in Miami.