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.