When manager Scott Servais left Houston on Sunday evening, returning to Seattle for the All-Star festivities and his players ventured out to various places for their four-day hiatus, he wanted them to relax and rest in preparation for a 2 1/2-month push for a return to the postseason.
Did they do it? He was still in the process of asking.
“You want to check in with the guys about the things that they did during the All-Star break and how they’re feeling, where they’re at and also get the full report from our training staff,” Servais said. “Certainly, we had some guys that left for the break a little banged up, so see how they’re feeling coming back. But at this time of year, the rest is really good. Guys are fresh and ready to get going.”
Servais told shortstop J.P. Crawford, who has been their most valuable position player, that he wanted him to sit on the couch and do nothing for the entire break.
Asked if he did, indeed, spend four days on the couch, Crawford said: “Nope, the pool. Too nice to be on the couch.”
Servais, who served on the American League coaching staff for the All-Star Game, enjoyed a few days off after the game but was ready to start the season back up.
“We will get rolling with the second half underway and the Detroit Tigers in town and the All-Star Game now behind us,” Servais said. “I think it was a smashing hit. Organizationally, I thought we did an awesome job throughout the city. The excitement that was here, the people I was around with the other coaches and players, we had a great time. I thought we put on a great event and now we move on to the second half and I’m looking forward to that as well.”
The Mariners closed out the first “half” winning seven of 10 games. They face a Tigers team that entered the series with a 39-50 record in Major League Baseball’s worst division. Starting the second half with a successful series is a given motivation, but …
“I think they’re all important,” Servais said. “You want to play well. I think the thing is we need to really focus on winning series. You guys have heard me talk about that a lot. We did a nice job of that leading into the break, just focus on winning the series. It’s really hard to run off a streak 10, 12, 14 wins in a row. So you just have to focus on winning a series here against Detroit, which is playing much better. They’re healthier now than what we saw earlier in the season.”
While the pitching was outstanding in the final 10 games before the break, it’s been solid for most of the season.
“Pitching has done an awesome job the first half of the season, and we need for that to continue,” he said. “It’s pitching and defense.”
But it was the offensive approach that pleased Servais, knowing it is vital for their improvement and consistent success.
“We put consistent pressure on [pitchers] up and down the lineup on the entire road trip,” he said. “It was like that even in the innings when we didn’t score. We were running up pitch counts, doing a lot of positive things offensively. And that’s what it takes. Everybody has got to chip in, everybody’s got to contribute. It can’t just be one or two guys that get hot and carry it for an extended period of time.”
Miller expected to pitch Sunday vs. Tigers
The Mariners didn’t announce the full slotting of their starting rotation coming out of the All-Star break. After serving as the emergency pitcher for the American League All-Star team and not throwing in Tuesday’s game, Luis Castillo got the call to start the first game of the homestand.
Right-hander George Kirby is slated as Saturday’s starter, while Seattle’s Sunday starter was listed as TBA. After playing coy initially, Servais admitted that right-hander Bryce Miller, who is currently on the injured list with a blister on his right middle finger, is projected to start Sunday.
“Miller will probably come back into play here on the weekend here on Sunday,” Servais said. “The finger is doing much better. Obviously, he’s on the IL so we will have to make a roster move to make that happen. But that’s kind of where we’re leaning right now.”
Miller played catch Thursday at T-Mobile Park and threw off the mound before Friday’s game in a light bullpen session.
Logan Gilbert is expected to start Monday’s game to open a four-game series against the Twins, with Bryan Woo pitching in the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
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