After the the first two batters of the game reached on a single and an error, Cijntje retried 12 of the next 14 batters he faced. The 2024 first-round pick pitched right-handed to all but one batter. He allowed a double the only time he pitched left-handed.<\/p>\n
One of Cijntje\u2019s six strikeouts came against Charlie Condon, who\u2019s ranked as the No. 23 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline<\/a> and was the No. 3 overall pick by the Colorado Rockies in last year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cijntje, ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Mariners\u2019 farm system and No. 86 in all of baseball, was making his first start since suffering a minor ankle injury covering first base on June 11. That start was the Mississippi State product\u2019s first after he left a May 31 game early with a vibrating sensation in his right triceps.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said he had it a couple times in college (and) it was never a big deal,\u201d Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said<\/a> of Cijntje\u2019s triceps issue last Friday. \u201cWe obviously skipped a start, had him throw a bullpen and then throw an aggressive live (bullpen) to make sure that the symptoms weren\u2019t reproducible. He felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n With no earned runs allowed Saturday, Cijntje lowered his ERA to 4.28. He has a 4-3 record with a 1.22 WHIP and 54 strikeouts over 48 1\/3 innings in 14 appearances (11 starts).<\/p>\n Cijntje made three relief appearances between starts in April with the focus being on developing his pitching as a southpaw. He struggled in those outings, surrendering nine runs over two innings. The Mariners have since shifted to a starter-only focus<\/a> for their unique pitching prospect. In his 11 starts, Cijntje has 2.72 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.<\/p>\n \u201cI think what we want to do moving forward is kind of shift more to just the starter version of this and learn how to blend the left hand into those outings, and then also give him a true bullpen in the middle to work on things and develop,\u201d pitching strategist Trent Blank told Seattle Sports Mariners insider Shannon Drayer<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had one where we wanted to speed up the development side through the game, now we\u2019re going to shift it back to give him a break from the left side from a workload standpoint and then also give him some just true development reps in the bullpen.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Cal Raleigh hits No. 30, joins rare company with latest milestone HR<\/a>
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