Logan Gilbert’s best start in a year leads Mariners past Houston 6-1

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 12: Logan Gilbert #36 of the Seattle Mariners reafts during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park on April 12, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images Logan Gilbert needed this game almost as much as I needed Logan Gilbert to have this game. I’ll admit I was nervous at the beginning when the game started with Jose Altuve hitting a line drive into centerfield.

But things quickly turned around when Josh Naylor deked a move back to first base that sent Altuve scrambling back. When Altuve realized Naylor was faking, he loped back toward second, and at that exact moment, with Altuve relaxed and leaning toward second, Gilbert struck. It notched Gilbert just the second pick-off of his career, with Altuve caught so flat-footed he didn’t even try to get back.

According to Gilbert, the move was planned and was called from the dugout, with Naylor’s deke, Cal’s read and call for the pick-off with a glove drop: “Basically, everyone else picked him off. I just threw the ball. ” Despite his limited role in the affair, it still elicited a huge smile from Gilbert, who thought it was his first in MLB, saying, “I was about to throw the ball out, but I didn’t know if that would like, look bad.

” I think the moment might have served as a hardware reset for him because the rest of his performance was, in my view, his best since his breakout 2024. The key, as I’ve been obsessing over, was Gilbert’s slider. He picked up his first strikeout today—against Yordan Álvarez—on an 89-mph slider with more bite than I’ve seen on a Gilbert slider in a year.