How Will Seattle Mariners Handle Bullpen During 13-Game Stretch?

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners finally got back on track and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 9-6 win against the Houston Astros on Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Every hitter in the Mariners lineup scored a run in the win. The pitching was mostly solid throughout the game but stumbled in the later innings, specifically in the eighth.

Seattle entered the eighth inning of Friday's win with a 9-3 lead. The M's, following a five-inning start from Emerson Hancock, already used high-leverage arms Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively.

With a six-run lead going into the eighth, the Mariners opted to give the ball to right-hander Cole Wilcox to get the final six outs and preserve the remaining back-end relievers.

Wilcox gave up a three-run home run to Houston outfielder Yordan Alvarez, which resulted in the eventual final of 9-6. After that hit, Matt Brash entered the game to get the final two outs in the eighth and closer Andres Munoz entered in the ninth and earned his first save of the season.

Having to use Brash and Munoz after starting the eighth with a huge lead wouldn't have been ideal regardless. But given the current stretch Seattle is in, that development could end up having negative ramifications.

Friday marked the first of 13 consecutive games for the Mariners without a day off. After the conclusion of their four-game series against the Astros on Monday, they'll go on the road for a three-game series against the San Diego Padres starting Tuesday and return home for a six-game homestand against the Texas Rangers and Athletics beginning April 17.

Without a day off in the midst of that stretch, Seattle will have to carefully navigate the bullpen as to not overuse its top relievers.

"You have to kind of manage the workload," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Saturday. "Coming out of spring training, it's still very early so you want to maximize the rest and all the stuff that goes into it. (We'll) continue to do that the best we can. We had to get a couple of our higher-leverage guys in last night. But because of our starters and their ability to go deep, (the relievers have) had a little bit more rest, so I think they were ready for it and we'll continue to be ready for it. It's just all the stuff that you have to take into consideration as you go forward."

Seattle Mariners reliever Gabe Speier walks off the mound during a game against the Houston Astros on Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. | Joe Nicholson/Imagn Images.

Seattle will hope that starter Luis Castillo could give the team and the bullpen a long outing. He'll pitch for the M's in game two of the four-game series against Houston at 6:40 p.m. PT on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.

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