August 9, 2024; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller (50) leaves the field after the fifth inning of the final game against the New York Mets at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports Seattle Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller will match his season-opening total in points as a rookie on Tuesday, despite already making some impressive improvements from a year ago.
Miller, who will face the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road on Tuesday, has a 9-7 record and a 3.29 ERA in 24 starts, giving him one more win and a better ERA per nine innings than last year. 1 point less. His 128 strikeouts are nine more than his 2023 total, and his seven hits per nine innings average is up 1.5 from a year ago.
He made his only career start against the Dodgers last September, when he allowed four hits in 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He didn't have a decision in that game, so a win on Tuesday could top that.
Miller enters Tuesday's game after back-to-back scoreless starts. He pitched six innings at home against the New York Mets on August 9 and seven innings on the road against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. His nine strikeouts Thursday were his season-high.
“I went out there and tried to hit zero runs and see what happened,” Miller said after the game against the Tigers. “I'm going to do my best and be productive. So, I'm just trying to do my job and let's keep playing and see what happens.”
Eight times this season, Miller went at least six innings without allowing a run.
After Monday's 3-0 loss to the Dodgers, the Mariners are now 1-6 on a three-city, nine-game road trip that will undermine their bid to leapfrog the Houston Astros for the AL West lead. Some damage was done. The Mariners were tied for first place as recently as Aug. 11 and were five games behind entering Tuesday's game.
The new-look Dodgers will get right-hander Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.58) on the mound for his 10th start of the season and second since returning from a hip injury Starter. Buehler missed nearly two years following his second Tommy John surgery and returned briefly before the hip started giving him trouble.
Buehler allowed four runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. The Dodgers committed two errors in the infield.
“Just from the eye test, he was out of sync,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think his pitching is inconsistent and obviously his pitching is inconsistent. He rarely gets a strike 1. He works behind the batter and then you try to find a way to get back to the count. It's hard to live like that.
“I think you get the point, he's still looking.”
Buehler is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts against the Mariners.
Outfielder Tommy Edman made his first appearance with the Dodgers on Monday after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals in late July and continues to recover from wrist and ankle injuries. He made one of three shots.
Max Muncy started at third base in his first game in three months after recovering from an oblique strain and hit a two-run homer in the three-run seventh inning.
Los Angeles also revealed that first baseman Freddie Freeman suffered a hairline fracture in the middle finger of his right hand. Despite the injury, Freeman played in Wednesday's game and batted third in the lineup, going 0-for-4.
The Dodgers are three games ahead of the San Diego Padres and four games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.
–Scene-level media