Incredibly niche Mariners stat signals alarming trade deadline need

The Seattle Mariners have the league's fifth-best ERA, so outsiders would be baffled by the notion that their pitching is costing them games. But those are us who follow the team on the day-to-day know better, and that mostly has to do with how the sixth inning has become Public Enemy No. 1.

In Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, it was George Kirby's turn to get swallowed by the sixth inning. After cruising through five scoreless, a Pete Alonso homer and run-scoring doubles by Leody Taveras (old friend alert!) and Blaze Alexander effectively lost the game before Jackson Holliday's grand slam in the seventh put it out of reach.

Whether it's a starter or a reliever on the mound, Dan Wilson might as well hear the Jaws theme whenever the sixth inning comes. Here's a stat from Gravel on X that says it all:

So, slight correction a day later: It's actually a 5.74 ERA, and it's now tied for second-worst in MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays.

It's the starters who bear most of the responsibility for this. As nice as it is that the Mariners have gotten an AL-high 37 starts of at least six innings, five of their six starters have an ERA over 6.00 in the sixth inning. Bryan Woo is the only exception with an ERA of 3.60.

Of course, nobody is going to look at this team and conclude it needs better starters. Fewer starters, maybe, but saying that is no different from saying what they really need is more relievers. And the latter is the correct take now more than ever.

The Mariners needed to be on the hunt for bullpen help even before Matt Brash went back on the IL

Even before Wednesday's game went off the rails, what had been weird vibes from Day 1 in Baltimore took a turn for the uncomfortable when the Mariners placed Matt Brash on the IL with a lat strain.

This is the second time Brash has gone on the IL with a lat issue, and the first time was merely with inflammation. A strain is a horse of a different color, and not in a good way. Data from RosterResource shows that the average time missed with a lat strain in 2025 was 71 days.

And yeah, it can get worse than that. Just ask Carlos Vargas, who strained his lat on Opening Day and still doesn't have a clear recovery timetable with the Mariners 70 games into their season.

Adding in how Cooper Criswell has also gone on the IL this week and how Andrés Muñoz has been nobody's idea of reliable this year, the pickle the Mariners are in with their bullpen is both unavoidable and undeniable. Jerry Dipoto needed to be working the phones yesterday, and running out the clock to the August 3 trade deadline should not be an option.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow