Bryce Miller surrenders three runs in loss

Miller didn’t strike out a batter in this one. The righty allowed only one free pass on the night, but the Rangers made the most of the six hits they tallied against Miller. Wyatt Langford blasted a solo homer off him in the first inning to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, and Jake Burger’s two-run homer in the fourth inning would push the Rangers’ lead to 3-1. The Rangers would plate two more runs in the sixth inning and eventually forced Miller from the game. The five earned runs Miller allowed were the most he has surrendered in any game this season. He’ll look to get back on track in his next start which is scheduled for Wednesday on the road against the Dodgers.

The Mariners will open the second half with Miller on Friday, Bryan Woo on Saturday, and Logan Gilbert on Sunday. All three of them have been gifted a good matchup against a Giants team that has struggled at the plate this year.

Miller also issued four free passes in the ballgame while striking out three. The Marlins got to him for two runs in the second inning, including a solo homer off the bat of Griffin Conine. They then added four more — including a pair of unearned runs — in the fifth inning. The 27-year-old righty got 10 whiffs on 81 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 25 percent. Despite the poor effort to finish the first half, Miller heads into the All-Star break with a brilliant 2.18 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 65/9 K/BB ratio over 57 2/3 innings through his first 10 appearances (nine starts).

The Mariners had just two hits and the one run came on Cal Raleigh’s bases loaded walk in the sixth. Fortunately, that was enough for Miller, Eduard Bazardo and Andrés Muñoz. It’s Miller’s fourth scoreless start in nine outings since he came off the IL. Of a little concern is that his velocity has been trending down. He averaged 97.5 mph with his fastball in his season debut May 13, but he’s been in the 96.0-96.5 mph range since and tonight he hit a new season low of 95.8 mph. That’s still a little better than his career average of 95.1 mph, but it looks like he’s returning to his old level. He’ll face the Marlins next.

Miller gave up just three hard-hit balls, but two of those were homers that accounted for all three runs. Since coming off the injured list, Miller has allowed seven homers but only 10 runs in 45 2/3 innings. His K/BB is an outstanding 54/5, and there just aren’t more than a handful of starters throwing better than he is right now. He’ll likely face the Angels on Tuesday.

Miller struck out seven and walked one while losing for the first time in seven outings since debuting last month. The Mariners will probably continue to toy with their rotation through the All-Star break, but even so, Miller needs to be regarded as a top-20 SP going forward. He has a 1.58 ERA and a 43/5 K/BB through 40 innings.

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.

He allowed just two other hits in addition to the dingers. The Nationals didn’t swing and miss much against his four-seamer, whiffing on only 3-of-22 swings, but they also let it pass by seven additional times for strikes and could only turn it into two hard-hit balls. Miller has started five games and has a 1.54 ERA. Seems alright. He’s currently slated to face the Orioles next week in what will remain another must-start.

Miller authored his strongest performance of the season, falling just short of posting his first double-digit strikeout performance since last September 11. He generated an eye-popping 16 swinging strikes, including nine on his fastball alone, and allowed just three baserunners. The 27-year-old righty has been phenomenal since coming off the injured list last month, forging a microscopic 1.33 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 29/5 K/BB ratio across 27 innings. He’ll try to keep the momentum going when he faces the Orioles on Thursday in his next start.

Castillo expressed some frustration with the piggyback situation following his last outing against the Athletics where he threw 68 pitches over four shutout frames. Miller has voiced similar displeasure with the situation as well. However, the bizarre arrangement has worked for the Mariners from a results standpoint with Castillo and Miller combining to limit the Athletics to just a pair of runs over nine innings their last time out. It’s possible the pair’s reluctance to pitch in relief will lead to Seattle changing their roles. It’ll be Miller opening the contest with Castillo following on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.