Kade Anderson wasn’t going to get beat the same way twice on Wednesday afternoon. Facing Rangers slugger Jake Burger for the third time through, with the chance to clear the sixth inning for the first time in his extremely young career, the Mariners’ ascending left-hander stared down his outing’s one true jam. And he knew that, regardless of outcome, these were his final moments. Burger had taken Anderson deep for a solo homer in the second inning, the lone run that the rookie had given up all afternoon. And this time around, with Brandon Nimmo on first base after a one-out single, Burger represented the tying run. With Seranthony Domínguez warming, Anderson got Burger to swing over a gnarly changeup that, despite hanging over the plate, had enough juice pulled off it to fool Texas’ big bat. Crisis averted, lead preserved and an eventual 3-2 victory secured -- along with Anderson's first Major League win as the pitcher of record. “This is just the beginning,” said Anderson, who gave up six hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 81 pitches, “and this is also just the standard that I set myself to.” Anderson became the Mariners' first left-handed starter to win a game as the pitcher of record since Marco Gonzales on May 23, 2023. Obviously, the Mariners haven’t had a lefty starter since. More so, this was precisely the type of punctuating finish that the Mariners have been hoping to see from Anderson since making his much-anticipated MLB debut nearly three weeks ago.
