Seattle Mariners Starting Pitcher Bryce Miller Continues Incredible Season on Monday

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller continued to add on to a league-leading category in his latest start against the Houston Astros on Monday.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller throws during a game against the Houston Astros on Monday at Minute Maid Park.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller throws during a game against the Houston Astros on Monday at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Seattle Mariners earned a crucial win against the Houston Astros on Monday.

The victory brought the Mariners to 4.0 games within the Astros in the American League West and 1.5 games within the final AL Wild Card spot.

Seattle now has five games left in the season. After the win, the M's have an 11.8% chance of making the playoffs according to FanGraphs.

The win was due, in large part, to another elite start from Bryce Miller.

The second-year starting pitcher threw seven innings and allowed just two hits and no earned runs. He also struck out five batters and had command of all of his pitches. Miller worked his way out of two jams, including a crucial one in the bottom of the seventh when the Astros had two runners in scoring position. The Mariners led just 2-0 at the time and a solid base hit would have tied the game for Houston.

It was MIller's ninth outing this season where he's pitched six or more innings without giving up a run — the most in the league. It also was the latest appearance in a series of them that continued reaffirm Miller's status as one of the best hurlers in the league.

Monday was Miller's fourth consecutive start where he's pitched six or more innings while giving up one run or less. During that stretch (Sept. 6-23), he has a 0.72 ERA and has given up just two earned runs in 25 innings pitched. He has 24 strikeouts and has let up just nine walks during that span.

Miller also got his season ERA down to 2.94 on Monday. If the season ended after his start, he'd have 171 strikeouts in 31 starts and 180.1 innings pitched with a 0.98 WHIP.

Seattle's starting rotation has been arguably the best in the league season. And a lot of that is due to the All-Star veterans Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. But Bryan Woo and Miller's rise have been another key reason why.

Miller's will likely get one more start before the end of the season.

And if the Mariners are still in playoff contention by the time Miller's up again, he'll have another opportunity to do exactly what he did on Monday: confirm himself as an upper-tier big league pitcher.

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

BRYCE MILLER LEADS MARINERS TO WIN OVER ASTROS: Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller threw seven scoreless innings to lead his team to a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros on Monday. CLICK HERE

RODRIGUEZ RECEIVES INCREDIBLE AWARD: Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez received an amazing honor for his solid string of games this past week against the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. CLICK HERE

MARINERS ACTIVATE SANTOS OFF INJURED LIST: The Seattle Mariners activated right-handed reliever Gregory Santos off the injured list in the midst of crucial late-season playoff push. CLICK HERE

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