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Mariners vs Brewers: Best hitter, pitcher, and moment of the Mariners' series

It was a gruesome weekend series for Mariners fans but there were still a few things to be excited about in their series against the Brewers

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v Milwaukee Brewers
Seattle Mariners v Milwaukee Brewers / John Fisher/GettyImages
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The Seattle Mariners kicked off their road trip in disappointing fashion. After a dismal end to a three-game series at home against the Guardians, they lost two out of three games to the Brewers, ending in a 12-4 disaster. Here are some of the guys that still managed to play well despite the uphill battle.

Mariners' Best Hitter: Dylan Moore

.429/.600/.571, 3 H, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB

A consistently beneficial bench presence, Dylan Moore has always been an underrated hitter. His ability to play pretty much any position has allowed him to be plugged in whenever and wherever. This weekend, he filled in at first base while Ty France sat out for the entirety of the set on paternity leave. Originally coming in as a pinch hitter for Luke Raley in the first game, Servais must've liked what he saw since he started Moore for the remaining two games.

He got on base a total of six times, accruing three hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch. He also hit his first double of the season off of a Colin Rea cutter. It had an exit velocity of 105.8 mph and was scorched 319 feet to left field. He still barrels up the ball extremely well and with the current fluidity of the Mariners roster, he could find even more playing time this year.

Honorable Mention: Luis Urías

.333/.333/1.000, 2 H, 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI

Urías continued his strong start to the season with two extra base hits including his first home run of the season and with the Mariners. While staring down Hoby Milner in the ninth inning if the second game, Urías hammered a Hoby Milner changeup 385 feet to left field, logging an exit velocity of 106.5 mph.

With his underwhelming performance in 2023 and persistent injury concerns, there were lots of questions about whether he'd be worthy of a starting spot at third base. With the relatively big shoes of Eugenio Suárez to fill, he's done admirably thus far, slashing .176/.300/.471 over his first 20 plate appearances. He's yet to find his consistent groove but don't count him out just yet.

Best Mariners' Pitcher: Bryce Miller

7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K

In the second turn through the rotation, every single Mariners starter has given up at least four runs in their start except Bryce Miller. Taking the ball in the second game of the series, his seven scoreless innings were integral to Seattle stealing the win, even after Austin Voth conceded three earned runs in his relief appearance right after.

Miller attacked the zone with authority, challenging and beating Brewers hitters over and over again. His got 12 swings and misses, split evenly between his four-seam fastball and splitter. We got a sneak peek of the Bryce Miller splitter in the offseason and it seems to have blossomed into a lethal pitch. It's become his second-most used pitch and has insane whiff and strikeout rates of 52.2% and 50.0%.

Honorable Mention: Tayler Saucedo

2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K

If you were watching the last game of the series and turned it off somewhere around the fourth inning, you have my support. However, you may have missed Tayler Saucedo's valiant last stand on the mound to save some of his bullpen buddies a day of work. After Emerson Hancock and Collin Snider failed to make it through the fourth inning, Saucedo would pitch through the seventh, giving up a single baserunner and notching a pitch count of 40. The Mariners weren't going to stage a comeback so rather than wasting more bullpen pitching, Saucedo did his best to get things over with and get the team to the next game.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times later reported that Servais "had high praise for Tayler Saucedo," and his long relief appearance will hopefully pay dividends to giving the rest of the pitching staff some much-needed rest before tackling the Blue Jays in their next series.

Best Mariners' Moment: Jorge Polanco and Luis Urías double up debut dongs

In the second game of the series, the Mariners pulled off a close 5-3 win. The two runs that ultimately separated the teams came from late solo home runs which were the first for these two new Mariners. While Urías has been hitting well thus far as discussed earlier, Polanco has struggled in his first 41 plate appearances. He was finally able to show off his power against a Bryse Wilson curveball that he took 418 feet to right field. An inning later, Urías would also hit his first.

As of now, Polanco seems to be another victim of the Seattle second-base curse that also caused immediate regression in Kolten Wong as soon as he signed with the team. Personally, I'm still hopeful that he can make a comeback but with his current plate discipline numbers, adjustments are going to have to be made if he wants to remain competitive.

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