ARLINGTON – The Mariners bullpen received a boost on Saturday, as right-hander Matt Brash was reinstated from the 15-day injured list.
Brash, who underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last May, said he feels like his old self and is ready to “get right back into the swing of things.”
He did just that a few hours later, throwing a scoreless seventh in the Mariners’ 2-1 victory over the Rangers. Seattle is now riding a six-game winning streak and remains baseball’s best team since April 9 with a 16-4 record.
Brash entered with the game tied 1-1 and gave up a leadoff single to Jonah Heim, but quickly ended the threat by striking out Adolis García and getting Josh Jung to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“Obviously I had some nerves going in,” Brash said. “I was excited, I was nervous, so many emotions. But, once you’re on the mound, you lock in and do your thing. I was just happy to get in there and get the double play, get out of the inning and move on to the next.”
That inning proved pivotal in the long run as the Mariners’ offense finally broke through in the ninth. Jorge Polanco led off with a pinch-hit double on a line drive that García couldn’t make a play on, and then scored on a single by pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez.
That run proved to be the difference in the game. Brash, though, remained the story of the day as he returned to a big league mound for the first time in 581 days.
“Just a full circle moment,” Brash said. “Seeing the support from everybody was awesome.”
The Mariners understand what adding a reliever of Brash’s caliber does for the bullpen. The 26-year-old has one of the best sliders in the game, along with a fastball and a recently added kick changeup. In 2023, Brash went 9-4 with a 3.06 ERA and 107 strikeouts in a club-record tying 78 appearances. He was just the fifth reliever in team history with 100 strikeouts in a season.
He expected to build off that in 2024, but the injury delayed those plans to this season. Now, he’s back after making six rehab appearances at Triple-A Tacoma. He said before the game that he feels like the same pitcher, possibly better.
His season debut backed that up.
“I'm pretty much the same guy,” Brash said. “I'm throwing everything full intensity. I'm going out there and I’m going to throw my best stuff at the hitter. I haven’t changed my mechanics, the way I throw, nothing. I’ve added a changeup I throw to lefties occasionally, so that’s the only thing I’ve changed. Everything else is the same — same mentality, I'm not going to hold anything back and I'm going to be ready to go anytime they need me.
“I expect to be how I was in ’23 -- and maybe better.”
Manager Dan Wilson said the team would be mindful about how to utilize Brash early on such as avoiding back-to-back appearances. But there’s no question the team likes having Brash as an option in the ‘pen as he can do what he did Saturday.
“I saw him take the mound to start his warmup tosses and I didn’t see it speeding up on him,” Wilson said. “I really saw someone that was wanting to be there, had thought about being there ahead of time and was comfortable being there. That’s really, I think, how his outing went. He gave up a baserunner but was able to get the double play. I thought he was in control the whole outing.”
For Brash, it’s a significant step forward in terms of returning to the Majors. And it’s only more meaningful doing so with baseball’s hottest team.
“Everyone is just on the same page,” Brash said. “We’re going out, we’re playing for each other. We’re getting blowout wins, we’re getting wins like these that are a little more grindy and moving guys over and getting big hits. When we’re doing that, we’re dangerous.”