Mariners shift struggling Bryce Miller to pen

Miller struck out three and walked one, lowering his ERA to 4.01. It wasn’t the most efficient effort, but it was a step in the right direction after allowing five earned runs or more in three consecutive starts. Miller was phenomenal in his initial return from injury this season, but he entered Wednesday with a 7.18 ERA in the second half. He was going to be sent to the bullpen recently, but Emerson Hancock’s injury reopened a rotation spot. He’ll draw the Rangers at home next time out.

Jude mentioned that, “only after much prodding did Bryce Miler acknowledge a lat issue that crept up a month ago in Texas.” A month ago would be before his July 24th start against the Rangers. In the six starts since then, Miller has posted a 7.92 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 15.6 percent strikeout rate in 30 2/3 innings. In his 11 starts prior to that, he had a 2.27 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and 29.5 percent strikeout rate in 63 1/3 innings. It would be safe to say the injury impacted his performance a little bit. Since Miller also had questions about the health of his elbow coming into this season, he remains a major injury risk going forward unless there is some surgery on the table for him to help alleviate the concern. He can be dropped in all redraft formats right now.

In Bryce Miller’s last two starts, the Mariners have been outscored 41-2. The second number isn’t his fault, the first one he’s at least partially responsible for, obviously. The right-hander could not find the strike zone for the overwhelming majority of the outing, and he walked seven while throwing just 60-of-104 pitches for strikes. Miller was as good as any pitcher in baseball at one point, but he’s been borderline atrocious since the All-Star break. He’ll face the Blue Jays in Toronto next weekend if Seattle doesn’t alter the rotation.

Miller gave up an unearned run on an error in the first inning. He settled in for three scoreless innings before getting torched for five runs in the fifth, including a three-run blast by Christian Yelich. Miller departed with two outs in the inning at 92 pitches. He struck out three. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.71 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and an 87/18 K/BB ratio across 89 2/3 innings into a start against the Cubs in Seattle on Sunday.

Miller gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out five. He hasn’t won a start since July 2 against the Angels and has allowed at least four earned runs in four of his last six starts since then. Miller has a solid 3.39 ERA and 3.62 xFIP in 85 innings this year. He’s lined up to face the Brewers on the road next week.

Miller struck out five opposing hitters in the contest while issuing a pair of free passes. The Tigers jumped on him for three runs in the opening inning, including a two-run blast by Dillon Dingler. Dingler then tacked on an RBI single in the third inning. The 27-year-old hurler generated 10 swings and misses on 93 offerings on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll attempt to bounce back as he carries a stellar 3.08 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 79/15 K/BB ratio (79 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Yankees in New York.

An unhappy Miller departed up 3-2 after retiring Ryan Jeffers to start the sixth, but the lead was blown an inning later. Miller averaged 95.7 mph with his fastball on six days’ rest tonight. It’s the fifth straight outing in which he’s been in 95.0-.95.8 mph range after never coming in below 96.0 mph in his first eight starts. He’s still a reasonable enough bet to be useful in mixed leagues going forward, but the new ceiling he seemed to be demonstrating a couple of months ago is largely gone now. He’ll face the Rays next.

It’s a welcome development for fantasy managers as Miller will be spared from having to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That honor goes to Bryan Woo instead. The 27-year-old righty is getting some extra rest after being tagged for five runs over 5 1/3 innings by the Rangers his last time out.

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.

Miller left a splitter up to Bryce Eldridge in the fifth, and Eldridge drilled it out to center for a two-run homer. The unearned run came after he exited in the sixth, an inning that featured an error by Colt Emerson before Miller departed and an error by Cole Young afterwards. Even though he was on seven days’ rest, Miller’s velocity was again down tonight; he averaged 95.1 mph, matching his season low from his final start before the break. 95.1 mph was also his career average through the end of 2025, so it doesn’t spell doom. Still, there’s less reason for excitement now than when he was averaging 96.4 mph in his first nine outings. Miller will likely make his next start Friday against the Rangers.