James Paxton is a bright spot for the struggling Mariners

James Paxton has started the 2017 season the way every player dreams of. He’s pitching like a madman, quickly becoming the anchor of the Seattle Mariners rotation. He’s made four starts, and allowed just five runs. Not in each start, but in total. That comes to a sizzling 1.78 ERA. He was given American League Player of the Week honors just last week after giving up a grand total of zero runs and just four walks in his first three starts. (His scoreless streak came to an end at 23 innings.) And Paxton doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

That comes to a sizzling 1.78 ERA. He was given American League Player of the Week honors just last week after giving up a grand total of zero runs and just four walks in his first three starts. (His scoreless streak came to an end at 23 innings.) And Paxton doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

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Paxton continued his hot start when the Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers, 8-0, on Wednesday in the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports.The starter went seven scoreless innings giving up just four hits on nine strikeouts with one walk.

Looking at Paxton’s stats, a few things jump out. Through four starts and 25.1 innings, he has allowed zero home runs. He’s getting more strikeouts (his strikeout rate is up to 10.7 per nine innings, compared to 8.7 last year), and he’s kept his walk rate down. He probably won’t be able to go the rest of the season without giving up a home run, so that’s likely to change, but his walk and strikeout rates are in excellent spots. He’s staying in the strike zone, but missing bats.

Paxton’s performance would make him the bright spot for pretty much any team in baseball, but he shines particularly bright on the Mariners right now because they’re having a run of such horrible luck. Their 8-13 start isn’t what they envisioned for this season, and it looks like things are only getting worse.

On Tuesday night they got whupped by the Tigers, losing 19-9, and the game wasn’t all they lost. Two significant players left the game due to injury, and could be gone for weeks. Felix Hernandez left the game in the second inning with what’s being called “dead arm.” Rookie outfielder Mitch Haniger also left the game due to an oblique strain.

The loss of Haniger is important because he’s been their best hitter by far. He’s slashed .338/.442/.600 in 21 games, which is big on a team that has at least two starters hitting under .200. Felix’s loss is still felt strongly, but it highlights the issues with the Mariners pitching staff this season: they’re pretty bad. Paxton is the only starting pitcher with an ERA below 4.00, and his ERA is actually below 2.00. Besides Paxton, the entire starting rotation (including Hernandez) has been a disappointment. The Mariners bullpen doesn’t seem to be in any better shape: in Tuesday’s blowout loss, they gave up 15 of the 19 runs the Tigers scored.

The Mariners need James Paxton right now. Not just because he’s doing better than every other pitcher on their roster (though they desperately need that), but because he’s a legitimate bright spot. He’s something that fans can look forward to every five days. And the players, too. As the Mariners endure this run of bad luck and tough losses, he’s their lantern in the dark.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher