Seattle Mariners Rookie Pitcher Impressing in First Big League Stint
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners postseason push is in full effect.
The Mariners have won three-of-four games in the Dan Wilson managerial era with a combination of small-ball, aggression on the base paths and the usual solid pitching.
All four games of Wilson's fledgling tenure have been at at Seattle's home of T-Mobile Park as of Tuesday. And the team has had the usual gameday promotions they do while at home. One of those promotions was a fan Q&A on Tuesday with Mariners rookie reliever Troy Taylor — who's contributed well to Seattle's pitching staff since his call-up.
Taylor made his major league debut for the Mariners during the team's 12-1 dismantling of the New York Mets on Aug. 11. He was called up from the team's Double-A affiliate Arkansas Travelers on Aug. 10. Taylor impressed in his debut and struck out two-of-four batters faced in one inning pitched.
Two strikeouts during your big-league debut on @espn’s Sunday Night Baseball? That’ll do.
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 12, 2024
Congrats, Troy Taylor! pic.twitter.com/h1T1LzJeOa
His next outing didn't go nearly as well. He only went a third of an inning and allowed two hits and an earned run. The earned run came off a homer — the first allowed in by Taylor in the major leagues.
Since then — Taylor has been solid. He had three consecutive appearances without giving up a hit or a free base. He threw 34 pitches over that stretch. Twenty-four were strikes.
But it was Taylor's last appearance that was probably the most impressive. He entered the game in the seventh inning on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. The Mariners ended up winning that game 6-5 in extra innings but when Taylor entered — his team was trailing 5-1.
Taylor gave up two hits — a double and a single — to start the inning. He struck out one batter but then walked another to give San Francisco a bases loaded situation with one out.
In a remarkable show of poise for the rookie — he struck out another batter and induced a fly out. The Giants left the bases loaded, which helped Seattle mount its eventual comeback.
"I had a chance to look at him in Arkansas earlier this year — he's got great stuff," Wilson said in a pregame interview Tuesday. "Obviously coming here, getting comfortable in the big leagues, that's a big step. I think he's done pretty well and (we're) continuing to try and find him spots where we can plug him into. He threw an inning the other night. I thought he threw the ball very well. Got into a little trouble but got out of it. Those are big confidence moves at that stage of the game. So really pleased with how he's been throwing the ball."
The Mariners were dealt a couple hits to their bullpen the last couple weeks with Gregory Santos and Yimi Garcia both landing on the injured list.
With those injuries and the roster set to expand soon — Taylor's continued development and consistency will likely play a factor in Seattle's playoff aspirations.
Taylor has a 1.69 ERA this season in six appearances. He has seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.
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