Bryce Miller's start against Yankees, analyzed

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Bryce Miller paced with a Texas-sized strut as he approached the home dugout in the middle of the fifth inning on Wednesday night, then offered a short and subtle glance to the batter’s box, where Juan Soto squatted in a mix of angst and admiration.

Miller had just retired the Yankees superstar in a full count to keep Seattle within striking distance in an eventual 2-1 loss that was marred by a lack of run production and a costly baserunning mistake after the second-year starter departed.

That’s been largely the blueprint for the Mariners this season, and falling short of October -- despite being on the outside looking in since Aug. 12 -- will bring a big disappointment in this season of expectations. But how Miller is finishing his second season will be among the brightest spots looking toward 2025.

“I wanted a redemption week -- I had Texas and the Yankees circled,” said Miller, who was also brilliant last Thursday against a Rangers club that had battered him during his rookie year.

And therein lies what was perhaps the most telling component to Miller’s ascent -- the opponent -- as the Yanks had tormented him for 13 runs in two career starts against them, including a combined three homers from Soto and Aaron Judge on May 22 in New York.

Here are four moments that stood out and why they underscored Miller’s maturation:

Silencing Soto
The punchout pitch to Soto was a nasty 96.2 mph backdoor two-seamer that began way inside before clipping the inner black at the very last moment, freezing one of the game’s most disciplined and strike-zone-aware hitters.

But the sequencing that led to that moment was just as vital. Soto spit on the first fastball that Miller threw, which was probably the only offering he had any chance to do damage with. Then when he got ahead and in a 1-2 count, Miller darted -- and landed -- three straight splitters low and in for two fouls, then outside the zone for a ball. He tried to get Soto to chase on a curve that dipped below the zone to no avail.

And that’s when he went to the two-seamer, keeping it in his back pocket until going for the jugular.

“Whenever you make good pitches to him, he kind of lets you know,” Miller said. “And that's another reason he's fun to pitch to.”

Judge, too
It looked like Miller’s night might end there, but he was back out for the sixth to face Judge, a decision from Mariners manager Dan Wilson that spoke to his trust in the young righty.

Again working into a full count, while not giving the game’s best power hitter anything over the plate, Miller landed a two-seamer away for a backwards K, perhaps with some help from home-plate umpire Jim Wolf. It was Miller’s second strikeout of Judge, each of which was on eight pitches.

“The main thing for me going into today was not to let Soto or Judge beat us,” Miller said postgame. “They beat us yesterday. They beat me last time. So I think I did a good job with that.”

Bases-loaded escape
Miller’s biggest moment, though, might have been the bases-loaded jam that he escaped in the third.

Soto had bested him for a two-out, down-the-line double, which then prompted Wilson to intentionally walk Judge to create a force play. But Miller then walked Austin Wells on five pitches, prompting a mound visit as the stakes grew greatly.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., who went 2-for-2 against Miller in a rough start in Miami earlier this season when Chisholm was still with the Marlins, was due up. But Miller sliced a splitter past him for strike three to avoid potential catastrophe.

The 106th pitch
Miller’s most stressful pitches were in the early innings, when he was admittedly “trying to do too much, trying to kind of nibble,” which led to four walks. But after settling in, he wound up retiring each of his final 10 batters while reaching 106 pitches, the most by any Mariners pitcher this year.

“That sixth inning was big for me," he said, "like just to prove that I can go deep, throw a lot of pitches and still feel good.”

For an arm that was admittedly gassed at this time last year, Miller continues to show that he might only be getting stronger.