Gilbert makes All-Star-worthy scoreless start in win over Marlins

MIAMI -- The All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington is just over three weeks away, and with the run that Logan Gilbert has been on all season, maybe this will finally be the year he earns his first career selection.

Gilbert put together another convincing performance toward his bid for the Midsummer Classic on Saturday when twirling his second straight effort of eight scoreless innings and third of the season in a runaway, 9-0 win over the Marlins at loanDepot park. With it, Seattle snapped its longest losing streak in nearly one month at three games.

At 92 pitches, Gilbert was seen in the home dugout lobbying manager Scott Servais to return to the mound for the ninth, seeking his second career shutout. Servais extended a handshake while Gilbert kept his pitching fist closed, perhaps still in the heat of his uber competitive alter ego, “Walter.” But with a massive lead, Eduard Bazardo was called on to see Seattle to the finish line.

And postgame, Gilbert -- who leads MLB with 106 1/3 innings -- understood the decision.

“I was saying I should have went into the dugout through the other side, farther down towards first base,” Gilbert joked. “That's what I was telling [Luis] Castillo. We were talking about that. I tried to keep my head down and just walk past but didn't get away.”

Added Servais: “I put my hand out to shake his hand, and then he wouldn't shake my hand. And I love it about Logan -- all of our guys, really. They want it. It's hard to get complete games in this league. And quite frankly, if the game would've been closer, I'd have been more inclined to let him go. But we've got so many big games ahead of us.”

After a tough, six-start stretch in which the Mariners went 1-5 and Gilbert was either marred by a lack of run support or the uncharacteristic clunker, he’s firmly re-entered the All-Star conversation over his past three. His fate will reside on a combination of player-ballot selections and choices made by the Commissioner’s Office, as pitchers are not accounted for in the fan vote.

“You try not to think about it, honestly,” Gilbert said. “It's going to come up and there's so much media nowadays. It'd be great if it happens, but I mean, that's not the focus. The way that we're playing right now is really exciting. The lead we have in the AL West, that's always going to take precedence and I'm just trying to do my part when we go out there, to keep that lead or help it grow.”

Gilbert’s 2024 stats (AL ranks)
ERA: 2.71 (7th)
WHIP: 0.89 (1st)
OPS against: .575 (4th)
WAR (per FanGraphs): 2.2 (7th)
K%: 24.6% (12th)
BB%: 5.2% (tied-9th)

Thanks to some early and sustained run support, and an aggressive Marlins team swinging early in counts, Gilbert was able to efficiently carve his way through, including just 20 pitches the first time through the order. Gilbert didn’t throw his first ball until the third inning, and he only once fell into a three-ball count, which led to his first walk since May 30, four starts prior.

The only real jam that Gilbert faced was in the seventh inning, when Bryan De La Cruz reached on a leadoff error then advanced to third base before Gilbert’s free pass to Jesús Sánchez. That prompted a quick and solo mound visit from shortstop and team leader J.P. Crawford, presumably to talk Gilbert through the jam, after which the towering righty struck out Friday night’s walk-off hero, Tim Anderson, then induced a flyout from Otto Lopez in foul territory.

Overall, Gilbert surrendered just four hits and faced the minimum through the first five innings, with two of the knocks against him early -- both leadoff singles -- being erased by double plays. After the seventh, he also worked around a two-out double from Nick Fortes.

An onslaught of offense helped, too, as the Mariners advanced to 42-9 in Gilbert’s career when giving him at least three runs while he’s on the mound. Gilbert is now 34-0 as the pitcher of record in those contests.

On Saturday, it was the lower third of the order that provided the most pop, particularly Dominic Canzone (who crushed a solo homer into the second deck and through the tunnel) and Ryan Bliss (who had his second straight three-hit day). Overall, the Mariners’ 15 hits and nine runs were one shy of their season high for each.