Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas key Mariners in 6-0 win over Mets
Facing left-handed starting pitchers for the first two games of the weekend series vs. the Mets, the Mariners went with a very different looking lineup in Friday’s series opener at T-Mobile Park.
With veteran lefty Jose Quintana getting the start for New York, manager Scott Servais decided to go with a pair of rookies in his middle infield, starting Leo Rivas at shortstop and Ryan Bliss at second base. The two infielders were young teenagers when the 35-year-old Quintana made his debut major-league debut on May 7, 2012.
Bliss played sparingly after making his debut on May 27, starting 19 games over a two-month stay at the MLB level before being optioned to Tacoma to get regular at-bats. Rivas started six games and appeared in nine others when J.P. Crawford went on the injury list with an oblique strain early in the season.
On a warm evening, where Victor Robles, Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner went hitless, Bliss and Rivas, batting in the eighth and ninth spots, delivered the two biggest hits to help propel the Mariners to a 6-0 victory.
“I can’t say enough about the guys in the middle of the field tonight — the two little guys,” Servais said, referencing their sub 5-8 heights. “It’s a testament to the depth of your organization because you’re going to have guys go down, you’re gonna have guys hurt or banged up. You’ve got to give your regulars a day off and the guys stepping in there have to contribute. That’s what’s gonna take until we get fully healthy, everybody has to chip in.”
With the win, the Mariners (61-56) remained tied atop the American League West standings with the Houston Astros (60-55), who picked up a win against Boston.
It was the 12th time that Seattle held a team scoreless in a game, which is tied for the most in baseball along with Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia. It was the ninth time this season the Mets were held without a run.
Getting the start in place of Jorge Polanco, who is battling some knee soreness, Bliss stepped to the plate in the second inning with Mitch Haniger on first base, having singled to left off Quintana.
In his first plate appearance since being recalled on Wednesday, Bliss sat on a first-pitch curveball from Quintana, smashing a ball into the Mariners bullpen for his second-career homer and his first at T-Mobile Park.
“It felt really good,” Bliss said. “The first (career) home run was special, but here at T-Mobile, it was a pretty cool moment.”
Bliss scored from first as the winning run on Mitch Haniger’s walk-off double and then took advantage of his chance to start a day later.
“Opportunities don’t come around that often,” he said. “So when you get the opportunity just go out there and try to help the team win. That’s ultimately my goal. Obviously, I want to seize my opportunity, but I think that comes with just trying to win the ballgame. We’re in first place and we’re trying to win a division so that’s all I’m worried about. If I do that and then my game will take care of itself.”
Rivas ended Quintana’s outing with two outs in the seventh inning. Mitch Garver led off with a walk and Dylan Moore reached on an infield single. But Haniger was rung up on a questionable third strike by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez and Bliss hit a soft roller back to the mound for the second out.
With runners on second and third, Rivas stayed on a 3-2 changeup that was sinking away from him and off the plate. But he was able to push the pitch through the right side of the infield with a ground ball single that scored both runners.
“He was doing that the whole game to me all — all changeups, all the time,” Rvias said. “I was like, ‘I gotta hit it one time.’ And I did it. Every time I get two strikes, I just want to put the ball in play and run as hard as I can to first base.”
A 4-0 lead didn’t guarantee a victory, but scoring four runs usually means success for Seattle. The Mariners are now 48-10 when scoring four or more runs.
But Seattle wasn’t finished in the seventh. They worked a pair of walks off Quintana’s replacement, Adam Ottavino, to load the bases for Cal Raleigh.
The Dumper delivered with a single to right field to score two more runs and make it 6-0.
Making his 23rd start of the season, Bryce Miller pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with a walk and six strikeouts to improve to 9-7 on the season and lower his ERA to 3.45 on the season.
It was his 15th start this season where he allowed two runs or fewer and his 12th quality start of six or more innings pitched with three runs or fewer allowed.
“That might have been the best stuff we’ve seen from him all year long,” Servais said. ” The life on the fastball, the finish to the fastball, both the two-seamer and the four-seamer and he had the breaking balls going.”
A year ago, Miller was fighting mental and physical fatigue of pitching through his first MLB season. This season, he seems to getting strong and more efficient.
“It’s great to see a young pitcher like that, at this time of the season, have so much in the tank because we had so many big games ahead of us,” Servais said.
Miller wasn’t going to allow a repeat and feel the late-season slog, focusing on arm care and his routine in between starts.
“It’s gotten better the last couple weeks,” he said. “Last month, I felt like I was kind of at a low point, and then the last couple weeks, it’s felt like it’s come back. At this point in the year, last year, like, innings-wise, I think I was just steadily going down. Right now, I feel like I’m getting better.”
The offseason addition of a splitfinger fastball, the recent addition of a knuckle curveball, the adjustments to his sliders, has changed his mindset about his outings.
“Last year, I was getting fatigued at this point,” he said. “And the fastball was my pitch. So if that’s my pitch, and I’m fatigued, then it’s just like, everything’s is kind of down. But this year, I feel like I’m getting better, getting stronger as the year goes on. I also feel better with all the offspeed pitches.”