Young pitchers have a collective hiccup

SEATTLE -- First, it was the four homers against George Kirby on Friday that were wholly uncharacteristic. Then it was Bryce Miller being tagged for double his entire run total for the season in a runaway loss on Monday. And the string of tough starts this time through the Mariners’ rotation continued one day later with Logan Gilbert, who was on the hook for a 10-2 defeat to the Yankees on Tuesday night that has Seattle on the cusp of being swept.

Gilbert was ambushed for seven earned runs -- a season high and his most since Aug. 8, on this mound and against these Bronx Bombers -- while laboring through 90 pitches to clear just four innings at T-Mobile Park.

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The early deficit put Seattle’s bats in a big hole. Any chance of climbing out of that hole was compromised by the Mariners’ 2-for-11 clip with runners in scoring position and 11 stranded baserunners.

The Mariners, who entered this series with 16 wins in May, trailing only the Yanks’ 17 for the American League high, have struggled to even remotely keep pace this week. They’ve been outscored, 20-6, and played from behind throughout both games, trailing by six runs as early as the fourth inning on Monday and the third on Tuesday.

The Mariners will still finish with a winning record in May for the first time since 2018, and they’ll wrap this 10-game homestand in the green, too.

But their struggles against good teams have become more notable as they passed the season’s one-third mark this week. Seattle is 19-10 against teams under .500 but 9-17 against teams with winning records. Last year, when the Mariners were 25-30 through their 55th game but rebounded to reach the postseason, Seattle went on to go 38-33 against above-.500 teams, the fifth-best winning percentage in MLB, and 52-39 against those with losing records.

“Our starting pitching has been so solid all year long, it really allows us to be competitive every night,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “And the last couple of nights, it's gotten away from us.”

The more notable trend -- albeit a brief one -- has been the hiccups from the pitching. The Mariners have an MLB-high 29 quality starts, over which they are 20-9. Otherwise, they’re 8-18.

Starting pitching has been the backbone of their success, and this tough turn through from the three youngsters has stood out. Since Miller’s debut on May 2, Seattle hasn’t lost all three outings from Miller, Kirby and Gilbert in the same turn.

Kirby starts the series finale Wednesday, and he will be looking to improve on the trio’s most recent pitching lines:

Gilbert: 4 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 7 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
Miller: 4 2/3 IP, 8 ER, 11 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Kirby: 4 2/3 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 4 HR
Combined: 13.50 ERA, .403 opp. BA, 8 HR

"It's a really good pitching staff over there,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “To come in here and swing the bats the way we have the first two nights … it's no small feat to throw up 10 more runs against that quality of a pitching staff."

On Tuesday, Gilbert was plagued by a 38-pitch first inning, compounded by an uncharacteristic error by third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who instead of securing the second out on a force, allowed the bases to load with one out. That set up Isiah Kiner-Falefa for an RBI single and Jake Bauers for a sacrifice fly.

Gilbert grinded through 13 foul balls and thrice worked into three-ball counts. For the night, he threw first-pitch strikes to just 12 of his 21 batters.

“I think I was falling off, my direction wasn't as good -- just like simple things that I try to hammer home,” Gilbert said. “I just felt a little bit off there. It's very subtle things. ... Just getting my hand out front, staying on line and the things that make me successful.”

Added Servais: “What's going through my head is ‘very concerned.’ One more hitter gets on base, I've got to get a guy up and probably get them out of the game shortly thereafter.”

It was a stark contrast to Gilbert’s previous outing on Thursday, when he needed just 77 pitches to match a career high with eight brilliant innings. But that was Oakland, and this was the Yankees.

Kirby, Miller and Gilbert each vowed to flush these, and the Mariners staying above .500 heading into summer will hinge on it.