Logan Gilbert is on a roll this season. The Seattle Mariners ace has been the driving force behind the team's success this season. As a result, the star right-hander has been named as a player for the All-Star game. However, lost in all of the chaos of the MLB is another All-Star snub: Mariners reliever Andres Munoz.
Munoz has been one of the best relievers in the MLB this season, posting the fifth-lowest ERA amongst qualified AL relievers. He also has 15 saves, eighth in the AL, six of which were two-inning long save wins. However, Munoz was not named to the All-Star game initially, due to the many other equally deserving options. A stroke of fortune, though, allowed the star relieved to finally get his flowers in the All-Star Game.
With Gilbert scheduled to start just before the All-Star game, the star pitcher has decided to back out of the midseason classic. In his stead, the league has named Munoz as the replacement for Gilbert, per Bob Nightengale.
“Mariners starter Logan Gilbert replaced on the AL All-Star team by teammate Andres Munoz”
Mariners manager Scott Servais surprised Munoz by announcing his All-Star selection through a song that played during his announcement. The star reliever was pretty happy about the announcement.
““I was so nervous,” Muñoz said of his chances of making the All-Star squad, “but I got a little bit of … maybe it can happen. And then when I heard this Mexican song … it was really good, really good to be a part of that.”
Munoz and Gilbert are the only two Mariners named to the All-Star Game. The other relievers named in the midseason classic are Mason Miller of the Athletics, Clay Holmes of the Yankees, Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians, and Kirby Yates of the Red Sox.
Mariners fighting for AL West control
For most of the season, the Mariners have held control of the AL West quite comfortably. With the Houston Astros struggling to start the season and the Texas Rangers flopping, Seattle took advantage and jumped out to an early lead. However, over the last month or so, the Astros have come roaring back. They now sit just one game behind Seattle for the top seed in the AL West.
The Mariners have mostly relied on their pitching prowess to get them through the season. With Gilbert, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby, Seattle has a formidable pitching staff. It's helped the team mask their anemic offense. Seattle ranks dead-last in batting average and near the bottom of the league in most batting metrics.
Is this a sustainable model for success? Not quite. Playing with extremes like this often tend to leave the team hanging on a razor's edge. With the pitching starting to slowly come down to earth, the Mariners are slowly squandering their AL West lead game after game. Gilbert, Munoz, and the Seattle pitching can only do so much: the team needs to wake up on offense.
The All-Star break should give the Mariners some time to figure out their approach for the second half of the season. Can Seattle muster up the strength to fend off the oncoming Astros?
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