Mariners vs Cubs: Polanco Pops Off, Miller Makes Mincemeat of the Opposition, and Superstars Give Us Hope

Despite losing the series, the Mariners kept it competitive against an imposing Cubs squad. The team's offense remains sluggish while the starting pitching had a bounce-back series after hitting a rough patch in the last few weeks. Let's take a look at some of the individuals trying to reignite the team's momentum and get them back on track for a postseason run.

Mariner's Best Hitter: Jorge Polanco

.375/.583/.750, 3 H, HR, R, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K

Jorge Polanco has not had the greatest start to his season, but he might be starting to turn things around. Before this series, he had a disappointing .488 OPS. For a player who was brought on to add offensive life in the middle infield (or for any player), those numbers simply wouldn't play. After just one strong three-game set, he's now at a .622 OPS, still underwhelming but it's clearly not too late for a statistical improvement.

One thing that improved significantly against the Cubs was his plate discipline. Leading up to the series, he had struck out 19 times and walked just five times. Against the Cubs, he nearly doubled his total walks while striking out just three times. He kept a much tighter zone during this series, illustrated by his swing rate before and after playing the Cubs.

He also managed to take Javier Assad deep in the final game of the series, launching a ball 399-feet with an exit velocity of 104.8 mph off of a lazy cutter.

Honorable Mention: Luis Urías

.250/.400/.500, H, 2B, 2 RBI, K, HBP

To illustrate how lackluster the Mariners' hitting has continued to be, Urías was the only player to have an OPS >.670 even with no plate appearance minimum. In addition to making some key defensive plays this weekend, he also performed well in the five plate appearances he had. The platoon situation at third base continues with time being split between him and Rojas with Rojas having the slight offensive edge with a .798 OPS over Urías's .731 OPS.

Mariner's Best Pitcher: Bryce Miller

6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K

Miller shoved against the Cubs, pitching 6 ⅓ scoreless innings in the first game of the series. While he only notched four strikeouts, he managed to rack up 14 swings and misses and conceded just three hits. In fact, despite his strikeout rate of 23.6% being around league average, his whiff rate of 33.3% is in the 85th percentile.

Miller chooses to induce soft, fly-ball contact as opposed to ground-balls and he garners much of this with his four-seam fastball. The majority of his strikeouts actually come on his splitter, a pitch that is punching out opposing batters at a 38.1% clip. Don't get it wrong though, a Bryce Miller high fastball will still have hitters looking foolish.

He's had a great first three starts to the season, posting a 1.96 ERA and 0.98 WHIP to lead what has been a struggling rotation thus far. Hopefully, the other arms will follow his example soon.

Honorable Mention: Luis Castillo

6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 R, 0 BB, 9 K

In the final game of the series, Castillo finally put up a quality start after three consecutive outings where he conceded four earned runs in fewer than six innings. He also posted his highest single-game strikeout total so far this season at nine and was overall cruising. He seemed to be back in business, painting the edges of the zone like Van Gogh would have done if he could throw 95 miles an hour.