Luis Castillo showed signs of progress in the Seattle Mariners’ series finale against Kansas City on May 3, though the team ultimately lost 4-1 and was swept in three games. Catcher Cal Raleigh, sidelined for a second straight game due to right side discomfort, said he believed in his teammates’ ability to step up during his absence. “Louie going out and executing today would make things a lot easier,” Raleigh said. “But we have faith in that. Louie is due for a good game.”
The performance was important as the Mariners approach key decisions about their starting rotation with Bryce Miller set to return from injury and Emerson Hancock solidifying his spot after recording a career-high 14 strikeouts on Saturday. Castillo, who struggled with an 8.06 earned run average over five April starts, was under scrutiny to show improvement.
Castillo allowed three runs in the third inning and another following a two-out walk and RBI double in the sixth but managed more life on his fastball and improved results with his slider compared to previous outings. “I’m about nine years in the league, and since I’ve entered the league, same routine, same preparation from one start to another,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “Like I’ve said, sometimes there are obstacles that happen throughout the season. And sometimes, there’s bad luck. But it’s not going to last the entire season.” He also commented on feeling better pitching in improved weather conditions: “Based on this weather, I was able to get that velocity and was definitely happy that I saw that velocity tick up,” Castillo said. “But at the same time, a little sad that we weren’t able to get the results that we wanted today.”
Despite Castillo’s efforts, Seattle’s offense struggled against Royals left-hander Kris Bubic and had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position—both unsuccessful attempts—as they missed Raleigh’s presence at bat as well as overall production against left-handed pitchers this season.
Mariners coach Dan Wilson addressed those struggles: “For whatever reason, we haven’t seen the ball super well against lefties,” Wilson said. “But again, we’ve got to make some adjustments offensively and get back to doing what we do in terms of getting guys on base and pushing the envelope that way.”
