Considering the Mariners are winning road games at a 31% clip, one out of three is actually an improvement!

Christian Bergman – with his 7 shutout innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts – goes right to the top of my list of most baffling Mariners currently on the 25-man roster.  He had a very similar outing two starts ago, when he got one out into the eighth inning of a shutout victory.  These two starts, of course, are the slices of bread in the shit sandwhich that was his game in Washington, where he gave up 10 runs in 4 innings, in what has to be one of the worst starts of the year across Major League Baseball.

So, what’s the deal?  Is this guy a fantastic, double-play-inducing machine?  Or is he the guy who got pounded like a nerd on the playground?  He’s not just putting up zeroes against the dregs of the league; the Red Sox are a fantastic hitting bunch.  I guess, for now, we shrug our shoulders and exclaim Small Sample Size!  I have a hard time imagining a truly great pitcher would ever succumb to giving up 10 runs in 4 innings, but maybe it was just a fluke.  As always, we’ll need to see more starts out of him before we can make an informed decision.

Still, it’s nice to think that maybe he could be some semblance of the real deal with Bill McNeal.  Considering it’s highly in doubt that we ever get Drew Smyly back; Bergman may indeed be our only ticket to getting rid of Yovani Gallardo, if/when we get the rest of our rotation back and healthy.

The Mariners were finally worth a damn offensively, generating five runs on 16 hits.  We made reigning Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello work for his 6.1 innings, getting just two runs out of him.  And, we kept the string going through Boston’s bullpen.  Everyone in the Mariners lineup had at least one hit, with Cano, Cruz, Heredia, and Segura doing the bulk of the damage; not to mention the three hits from Chooch.

It was a sight for sore eyes, for sure.  Lots of hits, lots of runs, and the Mariners actually left a lot on the table.  Let’s hope they can parlay that into being relevant against the Rockies.  Four games, with 2 in Colorado (starting today) and 2 in Seattle (starting Wednesday).

Also, in You Guessed It, More Mariners Roster Moves news, Ryne Harper was called up as another reliever, taking the spot of Rob Whalen.  Harper has yet to make a Major League appearance, but his numbers in the minors look VERY encouraging.  Harper was acquired in an under-the-radar trade with the Braves for Jose Ramirez, another relief pitcher who was out of options and was apparently not in our future plans (in spite of him putting up some really solid seasons with the Braves last year and this).  Here’s to hoping Harper has the higher upside.