Seattle Mariners Starting Pitcher Reveals That He Pitched Through Ailment in Recent Gem
The Seattle Mariners are entering Tuesday coming off one of the most impressive wins of the season.
The Mariners beat the Houston Astros 6-1 on Monday on the strength of an amazing start from Bryce Miller. He pitched seven innings and allowed just two hits and struck out five batters without giving up a run.
It was Miller's ninth start this season pitching six or more scoreless inning — the most in the league.
What made it even more impressive was the fact that Miller wasn't 100%.
According to a report from Seattle Sports' Shannon Drayer, Miller was dealing with back tightness before the game — which he confirmed himself after the game on Monday.
Bryce Miller was dealing with back stiffness in his warmup. Said he knew it was a big game and he needed to do what he knew he could do. 7IP 2H 0R 2BB 5K 97/67. 20 (!) swing and miss!
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) September 24, 2024
And he did it with his grandpa in the stands seeing him pitch here for the 1st time.
Miller's latest start was also his fourth consecutive outing of at least six innings pitched giving up one run or less. He has a 0.72 ERA during that stretch with 24 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.
"Pregame by back kind of tightened up so that wasn't working but we battled through," Miller said in a postgame interview Monday. " ... I felt good all day then I started warming up (and) my back kind of tightened up. But I knew it was a big game and we needed a win (Monday). So just had to go out and do what I could."
Miller, a former Texas A&M pitcher, helped lead Seattle to the win in front of over 20 friends and family members at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Including his grandfather, who got to see Miller pitch for the first time.
The injury didn't seem serious enough to hinder Miller, who worked out of two jams with a pair of runners on in the second and seventh innings, respectively.
Miller will likely get at least one more start before the end of the season. And hopefully his back injury isn't something that will linger for his next outing.
The Mariners are 2.0 games back of the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild card chase and 1.5 games back of the Kansas City Royals. They are 4.0 games back of the Astros in the American League West.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MILLER CONTINUING TO LEAD THE LEAGUE IN IMPRESSIVE STAT: 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. CLICK HERE
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
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
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady
TEREN KOWATSCH