Mariners manager Dan Wilson said that Miller will pitch out of the bullpen behind starter Luis Castillo in Monday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Since being activated May 13 following a season-opening stint on the injured list, Miller has looked sharp over his first two starts, covering 5.1 and 5.2 innings in those outings while posting a collective 1.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 10:2 K:BB. The Mariners used Castillo for 2.1 innings out of the bullpen in Miller's latter start, and while the two will work in tandem once again Monday, the order that they pitch will be reversed. Seattle will likely let Castillo work a little bit longer in a starting role than he did as a reliever his last time out, but Miller could still end up covering the bulk of the innings, given that he's been the better performer of the two thus far. Pitching out of the bullpen may also increase Miller's odds of earning his first win of the season, after the Mariners held him to fewer than 85 pitches as a starter in both of his previous two starts.