DENVER, COLORADO - SEPTEMBER 19: Starting pitcher Bryce Miller #50 of the Seattle Mariners throws against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Coors Field on September 19, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Confession time: I didn’t expect the Mariners to win this game against the Rockies, but not in the way the Mariners did eventually lose this game to the Rockies. Not to sugarcoat things, 2026 Bryce Miller has been a rough watch this season, almost as rough as watching the 2026 Mariners. Miller has been on a particularly tough stretch of road lately, and the combination of 2026 Miller plus Coors Field felt like a recipe for a true TOT (Tough One Tonight). It did become a TOT eventually, but none of that was Miller’s fault.

Instead, Bryce Miller turned in his best start since…July 31st against the Twins? I’m actually going to argue this was significantly better than that start, as Miller gave up no earned runs – the one blemish against him wasn’t his fault, coming as a result of two errors by his catcher and right fielder that resulted in a free run for the Rockies.

Other than that, Miller did markedly better in several key performance indicators: he still collected five strikeouts, but he was more efficient with his pitch count, able to work into the sixth inning for the first time since August 12th against the Yankees. A primary way he was able to do this was by competing better in the zone, cutting down his walks and being more aggressive on the plate, putting his five-walk performance against the A’s behind him and issuing just two walks (still not ideal, but better). Miller did some especially effective sequencing, setting up his four-seamer up in the zone with his splitter and cutter before going to the kill shot at the top of the zone. Here’s a good example of this: he has Rumfield 0-2 having gone four-seam in, a splitter up but on the plate for a called strike two, another split Rumfield, late, fouled off, and then he goes top rail with the heater for the K:

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Miller talked postgame about how he planned pregame knowing that his splitter and slider were two pitches that work well in the high-altitude environment of Coors Field, but his primary focus this week was on getting back his fastball command and “putting it where it needs to go.” All those pitches worked well together tonight, and when the Rockies did make contact, it wasn’t hard contact – he had just one hard-hit ball against him, from power threat Hunter Goodman, in the first inning, that landed harmlessly in Julio Rodríguez’s glove, and then nothing after that.

“He was a different guy out there tonight,” said manager Dan Wilson postgame, to which I say yes and no: he wasn’t 2026 Bryce Miller, but he was the version of Bryce we’ve seen in the past. That’s good!

Unfortunately, because this is the 2026 Mariners and nothing can be just Good, the offense and bullpen couldn’t back up Miller’s strong start. On the one hand, the offense was extremely unlucky; the Mariners’ xBA in this game was, in the eighth inning, .278 to the Rockies’ .213. On the other hand, it’s literally the Rockies pitching staff, guys, and the Rockies were starting José Quintana, who is old enough to have had an AIM screen name, making his first start since May 24th. So. That plus some sloppy defensive play – pick a struggle, fellas – adds up to a pretty disappointing loss.

Thanks to Miller’s strong start, the Mariners were actually able to hold on to a lead in this game until the seventh. They got on the board early after Dominic Canzone smartly worked a two-out walk in the first and Cal Raleigh followed that up by absolutely demolishing a 3-1 sinker in the fat part of the plate. Initially this ball was ruled to have traveled 472 feet before the no-fun Statcast folks walked it back to a mere 459, but that’s still the longest homer of Cal’s career by the length of about one Cooper Criswell, or two Brock Roddens in a trenchcoat.

Put this in the dictionary for “no-doubter.”

But other than a Randy Arozarena solo homer – his 26th, as he continues to push towards a career-high in long balls – the Mariners offense was silent. Again, though, that was enough, until it wasn’t. The Rockies were able to tie things up in the seventh simply by exploiting the Mariners’ greatest weakness: putting the ball in play and forcing them to play defense. Zac Veen singled against Carlos Vargas, who threw Veen a cutter right in the heart of the plate, followed by another single to pinch-hitter Adael Amador, who got a hold of a sinker on the plate in a full count. With just one out and the lead still a narrow two runs, Dan Wilson brought in José Ferrer to try to get some ground ball outs. He did get Jake McCarthy to ground out softly, but it was essentially a functional bunt allowing Veen to score. Connor Norby then tapped a nubber on a slider right down the middle to Weston Wilson at third, who looked like he slipped a little trying to field the ball, extending the inning. That proved costly when TJ Rumfield singled on the fist pitch he saw from Ferrer, another sinker on the plate, bringing home the game-tying run. Wilson went to the bullpen again, this time summoning Cooper Criswell, who walked the first hitter he saw, Hunter Goodman, the best power threat in the Rockies’ lineup, bringing up hotheaded but impressive young rookie Cole Carrigg. (How dire was it? Cal Raleigh, not the cozy-touchiest catcher in baseball, put his arm around Criswell during the post-walk mound meeting.) In a full count, Criswell delivered a pitch right on the plate and Carrigg hit it into center for a two-run single. 5-3 Rockies, and that’s where things would stay as the Mariners offense continued to sputter and falter.

At this point, a loss is just a loss as we continue to march towards the end of this cursed season. It’s a bummer to have wasted a good outing from Bryce Miller, but hopefully Miller will be able to carry some of this momentum forward. Tomorrow Kade Anderson takes the ball, and I have a similarly bad feeling about the rookie in Coors Field. Hopefully I’ll be as wrong about that as I was about this, but maybe with a slightly better outcome for the offense. And as a reminder, if you’re in the Seattle area, come join us tomorrow for some silly fun times on the softball field plus a postgame watch party at Growler Guys. We promise it’ll be more fun than the 2026 Mariners season.

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