Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer against his old team, Bryce Miller allowed only two hits and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts over seven innings, and the Seattle Mariners won 5-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Jorge Polanco contributed with a solo home run, his 13th of the season, and backup infielder Leo Rivas added a two-out RBI single. The Mariners improved to 3-1 under their new manager, Dan Wilson.
Miller’s 10 strikeouts equaled his career high, which he last achieved in April against the Braves. Miller (10-7) retired the side in order in five of his seven innings.
“I love the fact he just throws strikes,” Wilson said. “He gets ahead, he dominates the zone. We talk about that a lot. He seems like he’s always in control of the at-bat.”
Josh Lowe was the only one to succeed against Miller with a solo homer in the second inning and a single in the fifth.
It was Miller’s sixth outing of the season where he pitched seven complete innings. In these six starts, he’s thrown 42 innings, allowed two runs, and struck out 49. Although Miller wasn’t happy with his fastball control, his other pitches were effective.
“All the secondaries felt really good,” he said. “So I was able to, on the counts where I got ahead, put them away.”
Arozarena was traded from the Rays in late July to help strengthen Seattle’s batting lineup. After a good start, he had been struggling recently, hitting 4-for-39 with only one extra-base hit and one RBI in his last 11 games before Monday.
Seeing old friends may have helped. Arozarena spent some time in the Rays’ clubhouse before the game catching up with former teammates and Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash.
