3 key reasons Mariners were able to break out the brooms in their sweep of the Reds

Reason #1: Mariners Starting Pitching was insanely good

Heading into the season, one of the most fun things to talk about as a Mariners' fan was the starting rotation. Shoot, you take everything I wrote about them here for the site, and it would probably be enough to fill a book. The Mariners top three pitchers were all expected to be serious contenders for the Cy Young. Then, you had your #4 and #5 as pieces that it seemed like every single team in baseball wanted. Could you be in a better spot?

Well, Bryan Woo started the season on the injured list, alongside possibly 2 of the Mariners best 3 bullpen options. It brought up one of the concerns that was thrown around about the rotation, in that past the incredible 1-5, there wasn't anything else. Emerson Hancock has had two good box score outings, but is really struggling so far in the rotation. There's a thought that the Mariners could look to Jhonatan Diaz to fill his spot, but we are yet to see that happen while waiting for Woo to return.

After a rough start, the rotation is back to prime form, shutting down a team that was rocking one of the best offenses in baseball. Even after the series, the Reds still have the 9th most runs scored in the league. Just how good was the rotation against them?

18-2/3 innings, 19 Ks, 2 BB, 9 H, 4 ER, 1.93 ERA, 0.589 WHIP

Yeah, that's nasty. Those are video game numbers right there. Every single Mariners pitcher had a quality start, pushing their streak up to seven straight games with one. Miller showed out in the finale, making one mistake all game on a solo homer. It was the only hit he gave up. As a whole, the Mariners pitchers held the Reds to just 5 runs all series, after they had been averaging 6 per game. That's right, the Reds scored less in the series than they had been scoring per game. Great work by our staff.