Davis Martin Is Putting Up the Second-Best ERA in Baseball and the Mariners Have to Figure Him Out Sunday

Davis Martin is throwing the best baseball of his life right now, and the Mariners are walking straight into it on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The White Sox right-hander is sitting at 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA, trailing only the Yankees' Cam Schlittler for the league's lowest mark. Fresh off a shutout gem against the Angels where he struck out 10 with zero walks while scattering five hits, Martin is the kind of pitcher that turns regular games into grind-it-out battles.

Logan Gilbert gets the start for Seattle against a White Sox offense that has absolutely woken up. Chicago has crushed five home runs in the first two games of this series already. Miguel Vargas went yard twice to fuel a 6-1 victory on Saturday, and before that, Luke Raley cranked both a grand slam and a three-run shot in a 12-8 slugfest Friday. The Mariners' bats have not kept up. Saturday they managed just four singles, including two from Julio Rodriguez, while the White Sox's Anthony Kay locked them down across five innings with just one run allowed.

Gilbert's Track Record Against the White Sox Gives Seattle a Shot

Here is the silver lining for the Mariners: Gilbert has been money against Chicago in his career. He is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six career starts versus the White Sox, striking out 33 across 30 innings. The problem? Martin is the opposite matchup. He is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA in three career appearances against Seattle, including two starts. On Monday alone, Gilbert gave up four solo home runs to Atlanta but still picked up a 5-4 win in six innings of work with four strikeouts.

Mariners skipper Dan Wilson said Saturday that the White Sox pitching has been executing at a level Seattle has not seen. "He had pretty good command of the outside corner with some more of the off-speed stuff, keeping us honest with some good velocity on the inner half," Wilson said. "That is what pitchers do. In and out and change speeds and up and down. And it seemed like he had all three of those going." Seattle rested Luke Raley against Kay on Saturday and Brendan Donovan, who just returned from a left groin strain, to get healthier for this stretch.

White Sox Are Rolling and Martin Is Not Tipping His Hand

The White Sox rotation is feeding off each other. Anthony Kay joked with Martin after that seven-inning shutout, asking why he did not pitch eight. Kay credits this competitive energy with fueling Chicago's success. "I joke around a lot with these guys. Even when they are doing good, I still want them to be better," Kay said. The clubhouse chemistry is real, and it shows on the field.

Martin himself is in a flow state. "It was awesome, executing at a high level, getting ahead, attacking the zone," he said. "Kind of feeling free out there, almost." That kind of confidence is dangerous. Meanwhile, White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery has reached base in 21 straight games, extending his streak with a two-run home run on Saturday.

This is a Mariners team that needs to figure out how to generate runs against elite pitching. T-Mobile Park is waiting for the M's to respond, but first they have to get past Martin and a White Sox team firing on all cylinders.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.