SAN DIEGO -- What stood out most from Logan Evans’ dominant outing on Friday against the Padres wasn’t necessarily the scoreless effort or poise in a hostile environment. It was the rookie’s candor when speaking postgame about his current role on the Mariners’ Major League roster as an injury fill-in, one that probably won’t last for the entirety of the season, given that the club expects George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller back relatively soon. “I don't know exactly know what my role is going to be all year,” Evans said after Seattle’s 5-1 win on Friday. “But for right now, it's just give the team a chance to win. I feel like I'm doing that. And obviously tonight, I felt like I executed that.” |
Ranked as the Mariners’ No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Evans is making the most of this opportunity -- and leveraging his sponge-like mind to learn as much as he can. A prime example occurred in his outing at Petco Park, where Evans -- who typically utilizes his “kitchen sink” arsenal -- was more deliberate with his fastball in an effort to keep one of MLB’s more potent lineups honest. Evans threw his heaters (a four-seamer and sinker) just 20 times among his 89 pitches, almost exclusively early in counts. Doing so helped set up his secondaries for chases and/or weak contact. “The main focus in between starts has been getting his fastball command and confidence settled,” Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth said. “Not that he's going to pitch off his fastballs or throw 80 percent heaters, like Bryan Woo. But when you need to throw a fastball, you've got to be able to use it, command it and he did that.” |
The clearest such sequence was in Evans’ final matchup that night, against contact specialist Jake Cronenworth, who ripped a triple off him earlier. Evans generated two fouls with the heater to get into a putaway count, then he went to his changeup and forced Cronenworth to chase and roll over. “That's where I need that fastball,” Evans said, “because it's a good weapon, but it's not my best. But, yeah, I’ve just got to keep them honest with it.” Evans had just three strikeouts and didn’t generate a single whiff until the second time through the lineup, perhaps expected given that the Padres have MLB’s lowest K rate (18.4%). But he also kept them off the barrel, with only seven of the 21 balls in play against him hard-hit (anything 95 mph or higher). Evans will carry a 2.57 ERA into his fifth career start on Wednesday in Chicago, after a scoring change from his May 4 outing in Arlington changed a hit to an error. And he’ll likely continue to lean more into his heaters as he furthers his player development. |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
By now, the word is out that Matt Brash is throwing a new offspeed pitch that’s become trendy this season, but we hadn’t yet gotten a chance to talk with him about it until last weekend. The kick-changeup is basically a new weapon to neutralize lefties, who posted a .770 OPS against him in his last full season in 2023, compared to a .547 OPS from righties. Brash confirmed that it has the same grip as the one used by Andrés Muñoz, where he lifts his middle finger above the ball -- hence the “kick.” “I think it just puts another look in a hitter’s head,” Brash said. “The lefties have to respect that now, and the righties too. It helps get guys off my slider, and even if they don’t swing at it, it could set up my slider better, my sinker, whatever it is.” Nearing the end of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Brash began toying with the grip in Spring Training -- not coincidentally, around the same time Muñoz began unveiling his version in a few bullpen sessions, which went viral for its nasty drop. And as has typically been the case with this tight-knit group of arms, there was some copycat syndrome. “Me and him throw pretty similar stuff,” Brash said. “So, I just tried it in catch play, and honestly, I was on rehab, so I had a lot of time to mess around with stuff. I started playing catch with it. It was OK. And then one day I moved the grip a little bit in my hand, and I started to really get, like, a ton of depth that I've never had before.” Brash has thrown the kick-changeup eight times, joking that he hasn’t generated as much swing-and-miss as he’s anticipated -- outside a gnarly strikeout to lefty-swinging Jason Heyward on Saturday. |
MUÑOZ'S INNING-SPECIFIC ROLE |
There have been many high-leverage pockets this season where Muñoz appeared to be the Mariners’ stronger bullpen option, even if it meant deploying him earlier than a save situation. After all, that’s largely how he was utilized before manager Dan Wilson took over -- for the game’s most critical outs, not necessarily its last. Last Wednesday’s late-innings loss to the Yankees was probably the most glaring example this season: Wilson used Carlos Vargas in the eighth, who surrendered a massive homer to Aaron Judge that broke a 2-2 tie. Naturally, many were clamoring that Muñoz should’ve been in that spot. So, a few days later, Muñoz was asked how the more defined role has impacted him. “It's been really, really good for me,” Muñoz said, “because I know when I'm going to get in. ... I think that has been a huge difference for me, just to know when I go to pitch.” There will be exceptions -- such as his first four-out save on Saturday -- but Wilson has been far less aggressive in those spots early in the season, especially given that Muñoz dealt with persistent back pain throughout last season. “I feel really, really good right now,” Muñoz said. “I feel fresh.” |
Mariners Special Events Check out everything on deck at T-Mobile Park. Buy Tickets » • Randy Arozarena 3-Day Bobblehead Giveaway -- May 27-29 vs. Nationals
• Mariners K-Pop Fireworks Night -- May 30 vs. Twins
• Father’s Day Weekend -- June 13-15 vs. Guardians
Mariners Value Games Get more baseball for your buck with Mariners Value Games. Tickets start at just $11 to select games all season long, including all three games vs. the Nationals May 27-29 and all three games vs. the Orioles June 3-5. Buy Tickets » Mariners Flex Memberships The season is in full swing, and it’s not too late to come on board as a Season Ticket Member. With a Flex Plan, you can choose your games and seats as you go while still enjoying perks like exclusive presales, year-round discounts, no ticket fees and more. Learn More » |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Mariners Beat, visit this page and mark "Mariners Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Mariners or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
