The Farther They Go, The Fresher The Mariners Bullpen Arms Become

Chris Flexen has kept the bullpen fresh in his last 2 starts.

Chris Flexen has been a revelation for the Mariners this season, especially at home. Though he has had some rough starts this season, he has had success recently. In his last two starts, he has pitched 11.2 innings while giving up 5 earned runs. In those starts, an average of 3 relief pitchers have been used.

Flexen has been an effective innings-eater for the Mariners this season. His pitch counts have been reasonably high the last two starts (113 and 98 respectively) but he has been consistently pitching well.

With his consistent ability to go at least 5 innings while limiting runs scored, it has set up the bullpen nicely to come in and take care of business. It has been said many times but I will mention it again: This has been one of the better Free Agent pitching pick-ups that Jerry Dipoto has found. After a successful year overseas, it did seem like his success over there would be difficult to replicate in a more difficult league.

However, Flexen has come over and been quite dominant. Flexen will be looking to extend the recent streak of 5 plus innings for starting pitchers as he takes the mound today against Robbie Ray and the Blue Jays.