Opinion: Mariners pitching much better at home than on the road

Luis Castillo (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

The Seattle Mariners are battling for a playoff spot in the American League. At 75 wins and 68 losses, the Mariners are in second place in the American League West and two and a half games back of the division leading Houston Astros.

One glaring statistic is how much better the Mariners have been this season at home than on the road. Seattle’s home record is 41 wins and 27 losses for a winning percentage of .603. However, they have been poor on the road at 34 wins and 41 losses for a winning percentage of .453.

While the Mariners have actually batted better this season on the road (.259), than at home (.225), Seattle’s pitching this season has been drastically better at T-Mobile Park than away from the state of Washington. Seattle’s home earned run average is a very respectable 3.40. However, their road earned run average is only at 4.60. Seattle is giving up 1.2 more runs on average on the road than at home. That statistic is quite staggering.

Five Mariners starting pitchers this season have been terrible on the road. Luis Castillo has a road ERA of 5.09, Logan Gilbert has a road ERA of 5.29, Logan Evans has a road ERA of 5.36, Bryce Miller has a road ERA of 5.58, and George Kirby has a road ERA of 5.74. Meanwhile, other than Miller, at home they have been a lot more respectable. Castillo’s home ERA is 2.79, Gilbert’s home ERA is 2.15, Evans’s home ERA is 3.32, and Kirby’s home ERA is 3.16. As for Miller, it doesn’t seem to matter where he is pitching, it has been a struggle as he has a home ERA of 5.46.