Mariners: the club’s plan on the mound tomorrow

The series between the Mariners and Blue Jays kicks off tomorrow evening. While the Jays were able to take advantage of the last few days to recharge their batteries, the Mariners found themselves playing a 15-inning marathon last night to continue their playoff run.

We're talking about a game in which the club used a ton of pitchers… including three starters (George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo).

Obviously, with less than 48 hours to go before a new series, burning almost your entire rotation is far from ideal. Under the circumstances, it was the right thing to do… but we wondered what the Mariners' plan would be for Game 1.

And the club has just confirmed who their starter will be: it will be Bryce Miller.

And that's even though he pitched last Wednesday. So he hasn't had a ton of rest.

https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1977071190557765883

Miller showed great promise in 2024, but had a tough 2025 season. His 5.68 ERA in 18 starts isn't exactly exceptional, and on Wednesday, he allowed two runs in 4.1 innings of work.

So he's fair game… especially with little rest in his arm.

That said, the Mariners were somewhat forced to turn to Miller, their only starter who didn't pitch yesterday. The club was probably hoping to see Bryan Woo (who didn't pitch against the Tigers) be able to pitch tomorrow, but he won't be ready.

However, we expect to see him at some point in the series. And that could make the difference.

Of course, since Miller hasn't had much rest, we expect the reliever to enter the game quickly. Once again, many of them played yesterday, but they're likely to be in demand tomorrow.

And it's safe to assume that they will be again on Monday, given that Luis Castillo, who pitched yesterday, is expected to be the starter.

Dan Wilson will have his work cut out for him in the first two games if he is to find a way to get his 54 strikeouts. And for the Jays, in front of a Toronto crowd that will be going wild, this will be a great opportunity to take an early lead in the series, especially with Kevin Gausman on the mound tomorrow (and Trey Yesavage likely to be there on Monday).

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1977047093387968972

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