When the Mariners committed roughly $2.5 million to Bryce Miller, they were betting on a pitcher who had already shown he could deliver. Instead, 2026 has turned into a public collapse. Miller has not just embarrassed himself with back-to-back blowouts; he has dragged Seattle into a piece of MLB history nobody wants.

He became the first pitcher in 136 years to lose consecutive starts in which his team was beaten by at least 17 runs.

“Mariners starter Bryce Miller did something not seen in MLB in 136 years in Seattle’s 19-2 loss Sunday… He became the 1st pitcher since George Van Haltren of the 1890 Brooklyn Wonders to lose consecutive starts by at least 17 runs,” ESPN Insights shared via X.

Seattle may technically be .500 against the Brewers and Cubs in 2026, but that record looks meaningless after getting humiliated 22-0 by Milwaukee and 19-2 by Chicago in the span of one week.

Both games turned into public beatdowns, and Miller was right in the middle of both disasters, exposing just how badly Seattle’s pitching has started to crack.

Miller had already been torched for five earned runs by Milwaukee, but Sunday against Chicago somehow got even uglier. Given a chance to stop the bleeding, he surrendered six more earned runs and watched the game turn into another humiliation almost immediately.

Two starts, 11 earned runs, and two historic beatdowns later, Miller had managed to put his name next to a record no pitcher had touched for all the wrong reasons.

Back in 1890, George Van Haltren and the Brooklyn Wonders were hammered 22-4 by the Boston Reds, then crushed 22-3 by the Chicago White Stockings a week later. Seattle was outscored 41-2 across his last two starts, while Brooklyn was outscored 44-7 in Van Haltren’s two losses.

The numbers changed, but the embarrassment did not.

“I don’t feel like that team beat me at all; I gave it to them,” said Miller. On Sunday, he gave up six runs but only surrendered two hits to 22 batters faced, though both were homers. “You give up that many free passes; that’s what happens.”

And he is right; the collapse did not happen all at once. Seattle actually led 2-0 before everything fell apart.

• 1st inning: Miller looked completely in control at first, brushing off one walk and keeping Chicago off the board. Seattle even gave him an immediate cushion when Randy Arozarena launched a leadoff homer for a 1-0 lead, making what followed look even worse.
• 2nd-3rd innings: Miller looked untouchable in the second, retiring Chicago in order while Seattle stretched its lead to 2-0 after Víctor Robles manufactured a run with his legs. Then the whole thing collapsed. Michael Conforto homered, Miller walked three straight batters, and Ian Happ crushed a grand slam, flipping Seattle’s 2-0 lead into a 5-2 hole almost instantly.

Seattle had a chance to answer in the bottom half. Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor both singled, putting runners in scoring position, but Seattle came away empty.

• 4th-7th innings: Miller briefly steadied himself with a clean fourth, but the recovery did not last. He walked the bases loaded in the fifth, gave up another run, and was pulled after 4⅓ innings with Seattle down 6-2. The bullpen then allowed another run in the sixth, while the offense stayed lifeless, and even a scoreless seventh did little to change the mood. By then, Chicago was firmly in control at 7-2.
• 8th-9th innings: This is where the rout turned into a complete embarrassment. Michael Rucker helped turn a 7-2 deficit into a nine-run eighth, with Pete Crow-Armstrong going deep before Seattle was forced to put catcher Jhonny Pereda on the mound, only for Pedro Ramírez to crush a grand slam. By the ninth, Seattle had essentially waved the white flag, sending position player Weston Wilson to pitch as Chicago added three more runs and finished off the 19-2 demolition.

Miller’s season has completely flipped. He opened the year looking dominant, posting a 1.51 ERA through his first eight starts. Since then, his ERA has ballooned to 7.19 over the next eight, while his strikeout rate has been cut by more than half. Even worse, Seattle has lost all eight of those starts, with Sunday becoming the latest addition to an increasingly ugly run.

“We had an extra-inning game [on Friday], and a long game yesterday, and yeah, it does tax you a little bit,” manager Dan Wilson said. “And yeah, it’s just one of those situations where it was the situation that we had at hand.”

Miller’s lat injury could be a factor behind his recent collapse. Reportedly, he has been pitching through a minor right lat issue since his July 24 start against the Rangers. Miller only acknowledged it after Sunday’s game, downplaying the injury and refusing to use it as an excuse, though his recent metrics suggest it may be affecting him.

Miller had a 0.88 WHIP before his injury, which rose to 1.50 over the six starts after the issue surfaced.

And Miller’s injury concerns did not start in 2026.

He revealed in May 2025 that his right elbow had been bothering him since the second half of the 2024 season and continued through the offseason. Although Spring Training felt normal, the discomfort returned from his first start of 2025, eventually landing him on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. An MRI showed no structural damage, but the issue had already affected his velocity and command.

With another injury now coinciding with another sharp decline, Seattle may have a decision to make. The Mariners’ $2.5 million starter could be moved to the bullpen if his struggles continue.

“We’re looking at all different kinds of options as we approach the end of the season here, and looking at everything,” Wilson said. “And obviously, we want to keep our rotation intact, but we’ll see how things shake down here in the next few days.”

Moving Miller to the bullpen might stop one fire, but it will not fix Seattle’s bigger problem.

The Mariners need a shakeup to reach the postseason

The Mariners are currently 63-69 in the AL West and 3 games behind the division-leading Rangers. They are ranked 8th in the AL Wild Card standings.

So, more than the box score, the team needs to focus on getting back its winning momentum. The offense needs to be at its best. Miller’s last two starts had the Mariners scoring only 2 runs, which suggests a shakeup.

The biggest name for the Mariners that has repeatedly misfired would be Cal Raleigh. Last year, he hit 60 home runs, setting the single-season record for both a catcher and a switch-hitter while tying for the ninth-highest single-season total in MLB history.

He slashed .247/.359/.589 with 125 RBIs and a .948 OPS. He took a nosedive in 2026, hitting .159 with 14 homers.

Against the Cubs on Sunday, the Mariners had only 6 batters to secure a hit. This is despite the Cubs going on a run. Thus, while Miller has his own struggles on the mound, without their offense going all guns blazing, securing a wild card berth could get challenging.