If the Seattle Mariners are going to stay in contention in the American League West, the team will need a fourth consistent starter to go with Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Chris Young. The 25-year old Roenis Elias showed Sunday that he can be the fourth starter, or perhaps even more.
Elias (4-4) recovered from a 5-run performance against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday to throw a shutout against the Detroit Tigers in a 4-0 win for the Mariners on Sunday. The lefty walked just one, striking out eight, and held the dangerous two through four of the Tigers lineup (Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, and Victor Martinez) hitless.
He has pitched at least five innings in every start he has made this season, and his 7.91 strikeouts per nine innings is second best on the team behind Hernandez. While he has struggled with his control at points this season, this was his fourth start in his last five outings where he only walked one.
The win propelled the Mariners back to .500 at 28-28, six and a half games behind the division leading Oakland Athletics.
Tacoma Rainiers
Tacoma fell at El Paso on Sunday, 5-4, their 13th loss in their last 15 games to fall into last place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Northern division.
The Chihuahuas struck three times in the first off of Jordan Pries, and while the Rainiers rallied in the 8th to close the gap, punctuated by a Jabari Blash RBI double, Gabriel Noriega was caught stealing to the end the threat.
The loss continued a negative trend for Tacoma. While the team is third in the PCL in hitting, batting .288 as a team, the pitching has not been there. Their 5.12 ERA is fifth worst in the league, their team WHIP of 1.56 is tied for second worst in the league and their 222 walks allowed is third worst. Pries has been a strong starter, but fellow starters James Gillheeney (7.24 ERA in seven starts), Chance Ruffin (6.80 ERA in six starts, 31 runs allowed in 41 innings) and Andrew Carraway (4.44 ERA, WHIP of 1.50) have struggled. Closer Logan Bawcom has a 6.41 ERA and has allowed more walks than strikeouts (14 to 12).
Tacoma will need its pitching staff to get things settled to jump back into the Pacific Northern division. They currently sit at 22-33, 12.5 games behind division leading Sacramento.
Jackson Generals
Jackson took the second game of a three-game set on Sunday with a 7-0 shutout of the league-leading Huntsville Stars. Matt Anderson, Stephen Shackleford, and Mayckol Guaipe combined on the shutout, with Anderson getting his first win of the year.
The Generals continue to suffer hitting woes, hitting just .247 as a team. Their 28 home runs are second-worst in the Southern League. Unfortunately, the pitching has started to fall off, with the team ERA dropping to 4.01, fourth worst in the league.
Daniel Paolini has been a solid contributor for the Generals, with his .281 batting average to rank him third on the squad. The 24-year old first baseman leads the current roster with four home runs, and his fifteen doubles are tied for best on the team with shortstop Ketel Marte. He also leads the Generals in RBIs and .OPS.
The Generals exit Sunday 19.5 games behind Huntsville in the Southern League North division with a 23-33 record.
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