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Bryce Miller and Easton McGee have had incredible MLB debuts for the Mariners
I'll get it out of the way right off the top. Yes, I know McGee threw three innings last year in relief. However, headlines can only be so long, and it was easier, and catchier, to have it as it is. This was McGee's first MLB start as well as his Mariners debut, so I thought it fit just fine. Now, on to the fun stuff. Easton McGee and Bryce Miller were both incredible, and record setting, in their debuts for the Mariners.
Yes, you read that right. Record setting. Each of them set a Mariners record in their debuts. Which one was more impressive? That's up for debate. Shoot, there is an argument to be made that even amidst each of their wonderful starts, they were still outpitched by the opponent. Kevin Gausman went 7 scoreless, striking out 13, while giving up 6 hits and one walk. Mason Miller went 7 as well, holding the Mariners hitless while walking 4 and striking out 6.
If you want to go straight to Game Score for the 4 of them and use that to figure out who did the best, here is how it would look.
Mason Miller - 79
Kevin Gausman - 77
Bryce Miller - 74
Easton McGee - 73
All of them were super close, and sort of shows why Game Score is a very useful tool for measuring dominance as well as effectiveness. We're here to talk about the Mariners though... well, their pitching, not their ineptitude on offense. Let's look at the starts from Easton McGee and Bryce Miller.
Easton McGee shuts down the Blue Jays for 6.2 IP (4/29/2023)
McGee sort of came out of nowhere, and his call-up surprised many. Chris Flexen was supposed to start, but was bumped from his spot in the rotation and McGee came up to make the start. Not a ton of people had been thinking about him, and he wasn't at the forefront of too many conversations about who could take a potential spot in the Mariners rotation.
Honestly, this one felt more like a video game than any start we've seen throughout the season. Kevin Gausman was sitting Mariners down on strikes left and right, chewing through the lineup. Easton McGee, on the other hand, was frustrating the Blue Jays with a massive ability to induce weak contact. Through his 6.2 IP, he struck out just two hitters, getting Bo Bichette in the first and Brandon Belt in the 5th. That was it.
The reason it was crazy and reminiscent of a video game was how few pitches it took McGee to do so. Before Chapman came to the plate, McGee had thrown just 62 pitches through 6.2 innings of work. That means that, roughly, he was throwing 3 pitches per hitter. With just one walk to that point, the Jays just hadn't been able to do a thing against McGee. 9 ground ball outs will do that.
Chapman would take the second pitch he saw for a double off the center field wall, and McGee's no-hit bid, and his start, were over. It was an incredible outing, but one that went sour quick. McGee has been placed on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain, and I really hope thats all it is. All too often, a forearm strain is a predecessor to Tommy John. Here's hoping for the best for McGee, as that was a lot of fun seeing him on the mound.
Bryce Miller fans 10 Athletics in MLB Debut (5/2/2023)
In case you missed it, I'm a big time fan of Bryce Miller, and was really excited to hear that he was called up to the bigs. For those worried about some of his starts in AA, and how that would translate to the Majors, the worries were quickly and forcefully shoved aside as he dominated the Athletics hitters out of the gate.
Lineout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
Strikeout
That was how the first two innings went for Miller. Three strikeouts swinging and two looking, and Miller was off to the races. In fact, it wasn't until Tony Kemp came up in the sixth inning with one out that the Athletics would get the first hit of the ballgame. Yes, first hit period, as the Mariners were just as atrocious on offense as Oakland this game. A wild pitch moved Kemp to second, and Ruiz hit an RBI double to put the Athletics up 1-0. Servais let Miller finish out the inning, as he got Noda to go do swinging for his 10th strikeout of the game.
That 10th strikeout was historic. He became the first Mariners pitcher EVER to strike out 10 hitters in their Major League debut, becoming just the 30th man in the history of baseball to do so. Bryce Miller threw just 81 pitches, giving up the two hits, walking no one, and K'ing 10 hitters. If you noticed, He was perfect through 5.1 IP. Just amazing.
Miller will likely be back on the mound on Sunday May 7th to take on the Astros, so things are going to be a little (a lot) harder for him in his second start. Still, I'm excited to see how he does over the remainder of the season.