Murfee has fired five hitless innings over his first five Cactus League appearances, allowing a walk and hitting a batter while recording five strikeouts.
Murfee is believed to have the inside track for a top setup role in 2023, although the likes of Andres Munoz and Diego Castillo could certainly also see their fair share of eighth-inning work when not serving as closers alongside Paul Sewald. The 28-year-old Murfee was highly impressive as a rookie in 2022, recording a 4-0 record, 2.99 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 9.9 K/9 and seven holds across 69.1 innings.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Impressing out of bullpen
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Murfee, who fired a scoreless ninth inning during which he allowed a hit and a walk while recording a strikeout in a win over the Angels on Monday, has pitched to a 1.23 ERA across the 7.1 innings he's logged across eight September appearances.
Murfee hasn't recorded any decisions, saves or holds during that span, but he continues to be one of manager Scott Servais' most reliable bullpen options from a real-world perspective. The 28-year-old rookie has produced a 4-0 record, 2.49 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 in 57 appearances, garnering five holds along the way.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Picks up fourth victory
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Murfee (4-0) recorded the win in an extra-innings victory over the Guardians on Friday, firing a scoreless 11th inning during which he issued two walks.
Murfee didn't allow any hits or record any strikeouts, but the right-hander nevertheless made it an eventful frame with an intentional walk of Jose Ramirez and a conventional free pass issued to Oscar Gonzalez. The 28-year-old buckled down with two on and two out by getting Mike Freeman to ground out into an inning-ending fielder's choice, and he was rewarded with his fourth victory of the season when Mitch Haniger singled in the game-winning run in the home half of the frame. Murfee now has just one fewer win than his five holds and has complemented those counting stats with a 2.67 ERA and 0.87 WHIP across 54 innings.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Snags third win Wednesday
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Murfee (3-0) recorded the win over the Yankees on Wednesday despite allowing an earned run on one hit over two-thirds of an inning.
Murfee surrendered a 412-foot home run to Aaron Judge in the seventh inning that extended the Yankees' lead to 3-1 at the time, but he was bailed out when the Mariners rallied in the home half of the frame and held on for the victory. Murfee had only allowed a single earned run over his previous 11 appearances going into Wednesday, so his stumble against Judge aside, the rookie right-hander continues enjoy a very impressive initial big-league tour of duty that includes a 2.36 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and five holds in addition to his trio of victories.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Another shutdown outing
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Murfee allowed zero runs on zero hits and one walk while striking out one over two innings Monday against the Yankees.
Murfee's solid performance against the Yankees comes as no surprise as he sports a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings over his last 11 home appearances; furthermore, the righty has surrendered only one run and zero homers over 13.2 innings in his last 11 outings with a 0.66 WHIP during that span. The 28-year-old has not been prone to give free passes with just two walks in 22.2 innings over his last 20 appearances.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Minimal work for second hold
Rotowire
Murfee secured his second hold in Saturday's win over the Angels, getting one out on a four-pitch strikeout to close out the sixth inning.
The Angels' Taylor Ward seemingly never knew what hit him, as Murfee came back from a first-pitch ball to retire the outfielder on three straight pitches, the final one a slider he induced a swinging third strike on. Except for a rare hiccup against the Twins on June 15 when he allowed three earned runs over two-thirds of an inning, Murfee has been an ultra-reliable asset for manager Scott Servais -- he lowered his ERA and WHIP to 1.63 and 0.80, respectively, with his fourth straight scoreless effort Saturday.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Opening Game 2 vs. Halos
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Murfee will open Game 2 against the Angels in what will amount to a bullpen game Saturday evening, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Justus Sheffield or Tommy Milone could work as the primary pitcher in this game. The right-handed Murfee has a 3.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in nine innings across nine appearances this month. He won't go deep enough to qualify for the win.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Gets first win Friday
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Murfee (1-0) recorded his first win in a victory over the Rangers on Friday, firing a scoreless eighth inning during which he allowed a hit and recorded two strikeouts.
The right-hander turned in a strong frame to prevent the Mariners' one-run deficit from getting any larger, and he was rewarded for his efforts when Eugenio Suarez slugged a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the ninth and Paul Sewald recorded the final three outs. Murfee is putting together an outstanding rookie campaign that now sees him carrying a 1.02 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 31.8 percent strikeout rate in addition to his one win.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Unblemished ERA in five appearances
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Murfee, who fired a perfect sixth inning during which he recorded a strikeout in a loss to the Phillies on Monday, has now logged 7.2 scoreless, hitless frames across his first five big-league appearances.
The rookie couldn't have fashioned a better start to his big-league career, as he also boasts a sparkling 10:1 K:BB. Murfee also recorded eight scoreless, one-hit frames in five appearances for Triple-A Tacoma before his April 28 promotion, giving him an impeccable body of work thus far in 2022.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Rejoins major-league club
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Murfee's contract was selected by the Mariners on Thursday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Murfee was returned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, but he'll rejoin the major-league club a day later after Yohan Ramirez and Cal Raleigh were sent down. Murfee didn't appear out of the bullpen during his recent six-day stint with Seattle but will have the opportunity to make his major-league debut at some point now that he's back with the Mariners.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Retreats to minors
Rotowire
The Mariners returned Murfee to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.
Since Murfee was called up April 20 as a replacement for a player on the COVID-19-related injured list (Paul Sewald), he'll be removed from the 40-man roster as he makes his way back to the minors. The 27-year-old right-hander went unused out of the bullpen during his six-day stint with Seattle.
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Mariners' Penn Murfee: Contract selected by Seattle
Rotowire
Murfee's contract was selected by the Mariners on Wednesday.
Murfee has struck out 10 in eight scoreless innings during five relief appearances at Triple-A Tacoma this year, and he'll join the major-league bullpen after Paul Sewald (undisclosed) was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday. The 27-year-old Murfee hasn't yet made his big-league debut but will likely be used mainly in low-leverage situations during his time with the Mariners.
