MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Leveled the series with the Mariners and are now 4-1 on their current seven-game, West Coast roadtrip…tonight, the Twins will play the third of four games against the Mariners in Seattle…after the series with Seattle, Minnesota will return home this weekend for three games against division rival the Chicago White Sox (July 21-23) and host the Mariners for three games (July 24-26)…the Twins have gone 26-22 at home and 23-25 on the road.
TWINS SINK MARINERS: The Twins won 10-3 last night and evened this series 1-1…Bailey Ober was the starter and earned the win after allowing three runs on seven hits (1 HR), with no walks and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work, good for his 10th quality start of the season; after allowing three runs on six hits in the first inning, yielded just two base runners (Jose Caballero 2nd-inning 2B and Eugenio Suárez 5th-inning HBP) the rest of the way…the offense erupted for 14 hits, including multi-hit games by Carlos Correa (2-for-6), Edouard Julien (3-for-5), Alex Kirilloff (3-for-4, double shy of the cycle), Max Kepler (2-for-3) and Willi Castro (3-for-5)…the bullpen trio of Jordan Balazovic (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB), Emilio Pagán (1.0 IP, 1 K) and Cole Sands (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) tossed 3.0 scoreless innings to close out the win.
The Twins were one of 12 teams in the majors to score at least 10 runs yesterday, matching May 30, 1884 for the second most in a single day all-time, trailing the 13 teams that did so on July 4, 1894 (Sarah Langs/Elias).
Castro, Julien and Kirilloff became the first trio of Twins to each record at least three hits in a game since Correa, Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela each did so on September 9, 2022.
BATTLE IN SEATTLE: The Twins and Mariners are playing each other for the third of seven meetings this season…after this four-game series at T-Mobile Park, the two teams will face off for three games at Target Field next week from July 24-26…Twins went 4-3 against the Mariners in 2022, including 2-1 at T-Mobile Park and 2-2 at Target Field; Minnesota won the season series over Seattle for the first time since going 5-2 in 2019…Twins have gone 12-10 vs. Seattle since the start of the 2019 season, after going 12-14 against the M’s from 2015-18.
Carlos Correa has an active 11-game hitting streak here, dating back to July 26, 2021; he’s hitting .347 (17-for-49) with six doubles, one home run, five RBI, four walks, 10 runs scored, a .396 on-base percentage and a .927 OPS during the streak…his 56 career hits at T-Mobile Park are his most in a visiting ballpark in his career.
Donovan Solano is a career .348 (16-for-46) hitter with three doubles, one triple, four RBI, two walks, nine runs scored and an .832 OPS in 11 games vs. the Mariners…he has multiple hits in three of his five career games at T-Mobile Park, going 8-for-20 (.400) with two doubles, two RBI, one walk and five runs scored in those games.
Byron Buxton is slashing .333/.412/.822 (15-for-45) with four doubles, six home runs, 11 RBI, three walks, 10 runs scored and a 1.234 OPS in his last 11 games against the Mariners, since April 8, 2021.
LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: Joey Gallo and Max Kepler each threw out a runner at home in the first inning last night, with Gallo getting Teoscar Hernández and Kepler nailing Ty France…per Elias, it marked the first time in Twins history (1961-present) that the club recorded multiple outfield assists resulting in putouts of a runner by the catcher in the first inning, as well as just the third time that the club recorded two such assists in any inning, joining the sixth inning on April 10, 2014 (Darin Mastroianni and Aaron Hicks) and the sixth inning on April 7, 2021 (Jake Cave and Kyle Garlick).
The Twins lead the majors with 407 outfield assists since 2010.
WE’RE A LITTLE EXTRA RIGHT NOW, OK?: The Twins have 11 extra-base hits in this series and 24 in five games so far after the All-Star break…club leads the majors in total bases (102) after the break and ranks among the post-break league offensive leaders in runs scored (36, 2nd), home runs (11, 2nd), triples (3, T-2nd) and extra-base hits (24, 3rd),
PEN-T UP POWER: The Twins’ bullpen is 4-1 with a 1.81 ERA (44.2 IP, 9 ER), 15 walks, 45 strikeouts, a .161 (25-for-155) opponent batting average and a .502 opponent OPS in the club’s last 14 road games, since June 23…overall, Twins relievers have combined for a .271 road wOBA and a .208 road opponent batting average, both tops among major league bullpens away from home, and a 3.35 road ERA (155.2 IP, 58 ER), the third-lowest ERA on the road among ‘pens this season, trailing only New York-AL (3.09) and Atlanta (3.22).
Twins bullpen has posted a 3.65 ERA (315.1 IP, 128 ER) overall this season, the fourth-best ERA in the majors.
CC ME NOW: Since being inserted into the leadoff spot on June 30, Carlos Correa has reached base safely in 14-straight games, hitting .339 (19-for-56) with five doubles, one home run, five RBI, five walks, 11 runs scored, a .413 on-base percentage and an .895 OPS… since that date, he leads the team in hits and times on base (26)…additionally, after the All-Star break last season, Correa hit .304 (77-for-253) with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBI, a .380 on-base percentage and an .866 OPS in 66 games.
Correa is also hitting .297 (22-for-74) with a .358 on-base percentage in his last 18 games overall, since June 24…he’s also hitting .301 (22-for-73) with six doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI and a .902 OPS in his last 17 road games, since June 8.
HOW DO YOU SAY SLUGGER IN FRENCH?: Edouard Julien matched his single-game career high with three hits yesterday for the second-straight night and is 15-for-26 (.577) with three doubles, four home runs, six RBI, two walks, nine runs scored, a 1.154 slugging percentage and a 1.761 OPS in his last nine games, since July 3…since being recalled on June 10, he’s hitting .369 (31-for-84) with nine doubles, four home runs, seven RBI, 10 walks, 16 runs scored, a .432 on-base percentage and a 1.051 OPS in 28 games; since that date, he ranks among the major league leaders (minimum of 80 at-bats) in batting average (2nd), on-base percentage (5th) and OPS (7th).
Julien has 13 hits in his last six games; the last Twins rookie with at least 13 hits in a six-game span was Danny Santana, who had 13 hits in a six-game span from August 9-15, 2014.
Julien leads all major league rookies this season (minimum of 140 at-bats) in OPS (.927, 1st), batting average on balls in play (.425, 1st) and slugging percentage (.548, 1st); he ranks second in on-base percentage (.380) to Boston’s Masataka Yoshida (.380).
AK OK: Alex Kirilloff recorded his third-straight multi-hit game last night, setting a new career-best streak…in his last 15 games since June 26, Kirilloff is slashing .373/.431/.588 (19-for-51) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 12 RBI, four walks, six runs scored and a 1.019 OPS.
Kirilloff has performed better on the road than at home this season, batting .330 (32-for-97) with six doubles, one triple, three home runs, 14 RBI, 12 walks, nine runs scored, a .426 on-base percentage and a .931 OPS in 30 road games this year…his road on-base percentage ranks third in baseball (minimum of 95 at-bats), while his road batting average is fifth.
STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA #18
2023: 2-5, 5.50 ERA CAREER: 61-46, 3.95 ERA
Making his ninth start and appearance of 2023 and his sixth road start…also his 178th career appearance and 144th start.
Facing the Mariners for the second time in his career; took a no-decision on June 14, 2021 at Seattle in a 4-3 Twins’ defeat (4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 K).
Is in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired in 2020, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.
LAST TIME OUT: Took a no-decision on July 14 at Oakland in the Twins’ 5-4 win over the Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum, Minnesota’s first game after the All-Star break…pitched 3.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, with a season-high four walks and six strikeouts…walked two batters in a 28-pitch first inning but kept Oakland off the board…retired the first two hitters he faced in the second inning but allowed a triple to catcher Shea Langeliers and an RBI single to shortstop Nick Allen; tossed 31 pitches in the inning, his most in any inning this year…allowed an RBI double to second baseman Zack Gelof and a sacrifice fly to third baseman Jace Peterson in the third inning… was relieved in the top of the fourth by Jovani Moran with the score tied 3-3; Twins bullpen pitched 6.0 innings and allowed only one run as Minnesota prevailed in the series opener on a tiebreaking solo homer by leftfielder Joey Gallo in the top of the ninth.
Issued four-or-more walks for the first time since June 29, 2021 at Chicago-AL, when he tied his career high with five walks issued (also, 5 BB on June 19, 2018 at Chicago-NL with Los Angeles-NL).
Threw 80 pitches in only 3.0 innings pitched…marked his highest pitch count in an outing of 3.0-or-fewer innings in his career.
Is 2-1, 2.70 ERA (20.0 IP, 6 ER) with nine walks, 27 strikeouts and a .214 (15-for-70) opponent batting average in four starts since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain) on June 23.
TWO STARTS AGO: Earned the win and recorded his first quality start of the season on July 4 against the Kansas City Royals, a 9-3 Twins’ victory at Target Field…pitched a season-high 7.0 innings and allowed two runs (1 earned) on three hits (1 HR), with one walk and a season-high-tying nine strikeouts (also, April 4 at Miami)…tossed 3.0 hitless innings to start his outing and recorded four strikeouts… after designated hitter Maikel Garcia reached on an error to start the fourth inning, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield, snapping Maeda’s three-start streak of not allowing a homer…retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced…Twins offense scored nine runs on 10 hits to secure the series victory over the Royals in the second game of a three-game set.
Marked his longest outing since July 22, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL (also 7.0 IP)…recorded his first win at Target Field since August 14, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay, which was also his last quality start.
MAEDA AT SEA: Facing Seattle for the second time in his career tonight…did not factor into the decision in his only previous start against the Mariners on June 14, 2021 at T-Mobile Park, as the Twins fell 4-3; tossed 4.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts… allowed his only run in the bottom of the third inning on a Jake Fraley RBI single…was lifted after 76 pitches and 4.0 innings pitched in his first start since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-day Injured List (right adductor strain).
Making his second-consecutive start against an American League West division opponent…is 3-1 with a 5.40 ERA (36.2 IP, 22 ER), 14 walks and 39 strikeouts in eight starts against the AL West since becoming a Twin…is 5-5, 5.25 ERA (73.2 IP, 43 ER) with 30 walks and 77 strikeouts in 17 career appearances (15 starts) against AL West teams.
WELL-TRAVELED ROAD: Making his sixth road start of 2023 tonight…is 1-3, 3.15 ERA (20.0 IP, 7 ER) with nine walks and 27 strikeouts in five starts on the road this year; Twins have gone 2-3 in his road outings this season…is one of six pitchers in baseball to start eight-or-more games in 2023 with five-or-more of those starts coming on the road.
Is 8-7, 4.87 ERA (122.0 IP, 66 ER) with 35 walks and 141 strikeouts in 25 road starts since joining the Twins.
Is 27-25, 4.64 ERA (407.2 IP, 210 ER) with 133 walks and 446 strikeouts in 95 career road appearances (79 starts)…in 82 career home appearances (64 starts), he is 34-21, 3.23 ERA (390.1 IP, 140 ER) with 99 walks and 429 strikeouts.
NIGHT MOVES: Owns a 2.77 ERA (13.0 IP, 4 ER) with six walks and 23 strikeouts in three nighttime starts this year, holding his opponents to a .213 (10-for-47) batting average…historically has better numbers in night games, going 44-30, 3.56 ERA (556.0 IP, 220 ER) with 164 walks, 620 strikeouts and a .647 opponent OPS in 122 nighttime appearances (97 starts)…is 17-16, 4.83 ERA (242.0 IP, 130 ER) with 68 walks, 255 strikeouts and a .742 opponent OPS in 55 daytime appearances (46 starts).
LEFT/RIGHT: Maeda has similar numbers against right-handed and left-handed batters this year…righties are slashing .268/.310/.476 with 22 strikeouts and a .786 OPS and left-handed hitters are slashing .276/.343/.379 with 19 strikeouts and a .723 OPS…lefties went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts against him in his last start on July 14 at Oakland but also drew four walks…righties went 4-for-7 with two RBI off Maeda in his last outing.
In his career, righties are batting just .207 (319-for-1541) with a .612 OPS and 521 strikeouts against Maeda…owns the third-lowest opponent batting average and fourth-lowest opponent OPS vs. righties since 2016 (min 750.0 IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (.182 BAA, .535 OPS), Jacob deGrom (.203 BAA, .568 OPS) and Clayton Kershaw (.609 OPS)…lefties are hitting .251 (365-for-1454) with a .744 OPS and 354 strikeouts off Maeda in his career.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 10-game homestand (2-3) tonight with the 3rd of 4 games against the Minnesota Twins (1-1)…they recently wrapped up a 3-game series vs. the Detroit Tigers (1-2)… the Mariners will also welcome the Toronto Blue Jays (3 G, 7/21-7/23) to T-Mobile Park on the homestand… tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM).
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped game 2 to the Twins last night by a 10-3 score…despite the loss, Seattle is 9-5 over its last 14 games…the Mariners are 36-17 when scoring at least 4 runs and 11-30 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 26-23 at T-Mobile Park and 21-24 on the road this season… they are 15-18 in day games and 32-29 at night.
- Stingy – Andrés Muñoz has held opponents scoreless in 17 of 19 appearances this season.
- W’s in July – Seattle is 40-22 (.645) in July games since 2021, including 9-5 so far this season.
- Series Record – The Mariners own a 13-16-1 series record (8-7 at home) this season.
WE WENT TO JARRED…Jarred Kelenic has hit safely in 6 consecutive games dating back to July 9, batting .350 (7×20) with 2 runs, 3 doubles, 6 RBI, 1 walk and 1 stolen base, while reaching base at a .381 clip and slugging .500 with a .881 OPS during the streak…the 6-game hitting streak is tied for the 2ndlongest of Kelenic’s career, trailing only a 10-game streak set earlier this year from April 5-16.
GENO DIDN’T WRITE BACK…Eugenio Suárez has homered in back-to-back games for the first time this season, while also holding a 9-game on-base streak (7/6-c)…Geno last homered in back-to-back games between Sept. 10-11, 2022 vs. Atlanta…over his last 32 games since June 10, Geno is batting .269 (29×108) with 17 runs, 8 doubles, 7 home runs, 21 RBI, 13 walks and 6 hit-by-pitch, while reaching base at a .364 clip and slugging .537 with a .901 OPS…his .901 OPS ranks 11th-best in the American League during that span (6/10-c), trailing only J.P. Crawford (.923) for the club lead.
FORD TOUGH…since his first game with the Mariners on June 2, Mike Ford leads the Mariners and ranks 12th in the American League with a .934 OPS (min. 100 PA)…overall, Ford is batting .271 (26×96) with 17 runs, 5 doubles, 9 home runs, 18 RBI, 7 walks and 2 hit-by-pitch, while reaching base at a .330 clip and slugging .604…since June 2, Ford’s 10.67 AB/HR ratio ranks 6th-best in the Majors (min. 100 PA), trailing only Shohei Ohtani-LAA (7.25), Francisco Alvarez-NYM (9.82), Josh Donaldson (10.00), Mookie Betts-LAD (10.36) and Luis Robert-CWS (10.57).
ROCK ON…over his last 10 starts dating back to May 22, Luis Castillo has posted a 2.67 ERA (18 ER, 60.2 IP) with 17 walks and 64 strikeouts…overall this season, he has limited opponents to 3 earned runs or less in 16 of 19 starts…his 16 starts of 3 earned runs or less are tied for 14th-most in the Majors this season, trailing only Blake Snell-SD (17), Sonny Gray-MIN (17) and Gerrit Cole-NYY (17)…Castillo ranks among American League leaders in multiple pitching categories including ERA (6th, 2.96), Opp. AVG (6th, .210) WHIP (T6th, 1.03), SO/BB ratio (4.36) and strikeouts (T9th, 122).
PAUL WILL SAVE US…Paul Sewald has tallied 19 saves this season, 1 shy of his career-high 20 saves in 2022…he has picked up a save in 5 of his last 6 appearances, converting each of his last 5 save opportunities…with his next save, Sewald will become the first Mariners reliever to record 20+ saves in back-to-back seasons since Edwin Díaz recorded 57 saves in 2018 and 34 saves in 2017…Paul has struck out multiple batters in 13 of his 19 saves this season…his 13 multi-strikeout saves are 2nd-most in the Majors, trailing only Félix Bautista (19)…Sewald recorded his 50th career save with Seattle last night.
TWINNING…Eugenio Suárez leads Mariners batters with a .324 (36×111) career batting average against the Twins, ranking ahead of J.P. Crawford (.297) and Ty France (.291)…Geno’s .324 average against Minnesota is his 2nd-best against any opponents, trailing only a .321 average against Arizona…in 32 career games against the Twins, Geno holds a .958 OPS with 15 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 25 RBI, 8 walks, 2 stolen bases and 8 walks, while reaching base at a .372 clip and slugging .586.
POWER-SPEED THREATS…Seattle is 1 of 8 clubs to have multiple players with 10+ home runs and 10+ stolen bases this season…Julio Rodríguez (13 HR, 22 SB) and Jarred Kelenic (11 HR, 12 SB) have reached those marks for the Mariners, who are accompanied by Tampa Bay (4 players), San Diego (3), Milwaukee, Toronto, Cincinnati, Los Angeles-NL and Philadelphia.
THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez recorded his 50th RBI of the season with a walk in the 5th inning of Monday’s game…he became the 5th player in Mariners history with 50+ RBI in each of his first 2 MLB seasons, joining Alvin Davis (1984-85), Ken Griffey Jr. (1989-90), Ichiro Suzuki (2001-02) & Kenji Johjima (2006-07)…Julio’s 50 RBI this season are tied for 2nd-most among Mariners batters (also: Teoscar Hernández), trailing only Eugenio Suárez (52) for the club lead…Seattle is 1 of 9 clubs in the Majors this season to have least 3 players with 50+ RBI.
DRAFT RECAP…the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft was held July 9-11, with the Mariners making 22 selections over the 3 days…on day 1 of the Draft, the Mariners selected INF Colt Emerson (22nd overall), OF Jonny Farmelo (29th overall), SS Tai Peete (30th overall) and 3B Ben Williamson (57th overall)…over the 3 days, the Mariners took 10 pitchers, 1 catcher, 6 infielders and 5 outfielders…they took 18 college players and 4 high school players…each of their first 3 selections in the draft were high school players.
MARINERS ALL-STARS…three Mariners represented the American League at the 93rd MLB All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle: RHP Luis Castillo (3rd All-Star), RHP George Kirby (1st) and OF Julio Rodríguez (2nd)…Kirby pitched the 4th inning, becoming the 4th Mariners pitcher to appear in an All-Star Game in Seattle, joining Freddy Garcia, Jeff Nelson and Kazuhiro Sasaki, who all pitched in the 2001 All-Star Game…Rodríguez reached base in the 9th inning, going 0-for-1 with a walk in the game.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…tonight’s game marks Luis Castillo’s 20th start of the season…through 19 starts, Castillo is 6-7 with a 2.96 ERA (37 ER, 112.1 IP) with 28 walks and 122 strikeouts, but…DID YOU KNOW?…Castillo has a chance to be the 12th pitcher (done 16x) in franchise history to begin a season with a sub-3.00 ERA through his first 20 starts?…Logan Gilbert (2.77 ERA, 2022) accomplished the feat last season, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to do it since James Paxton in 2017 (2.78 ERA)…Castillo made his 30th career start with Seattle in his last outing (7/14 vs. DET)…through 30 career starts with Seattle, Castillo holds a 3.04 ERA, lowest in franchise history through a pitcher’s first 30 starts with the club (previous: James Paxton, 3.16 ERA).
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 6-7 2.96 19/19 112.1 88 45 37 28 122 17
Home 8-7 3.15 20/20 125.2 85 46 44 40 138 12
Road 7-1 3.88 12/12 65.0 54 30 28 39 88 10
vs. MIN 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 54-62 3.52167/167970.0 810423 379 3321059 115
Home 32-29 3.04 87/87 527.1 404202 178 158 608 59
Road 22-33 4.09 80/80 442.2 406221 201 174 451 56
vs. MIN 1-1 8.18 3/3 11.0 18 10 10 3 11 2
ABOUT CASTILLO…
- The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 20th start of the season, 1st against the Twins…he is also making his 168th Major League start and 4th career start against Minnesota.
- Has been named an All-Star in 2019 and 2022.
- Originally signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants on 12/23/11.
- Made MLB debut on 6/23/17 vs. Washington (w/ Cincinnati)
- Signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 24, 2022 after being acquired in a trade with Cincinnati on July 30, 2022.
LAST TIME OUT…L#7 in last start on 7/14 vs. DET…allowed 3 runs on 4 hits with 5 strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME…is set to make his 18th start at T-Mobile Park where he has a 7-3 record with a 2.27 ERA (26 ER, 103.0 IP) and has only given up 11 home runs and 22 walks while striking out 127 batters…Castillo’s 2.27 ERA is the lowest in franchise history among pitchers with at least 15 starts at T-Mobile Park ranking ahead of James Paxton (2.99).
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR…was named to his third All-Star team on July 2 (also: 2019, 2022)…he was joined by teammates George Kirby and Julio Rodríguez.
INNINGS EATER…has made 5 starts this season where he has pitched at least 7.0 innings…his 5 starts of 7.0+ innings pitched are the 4th most in a season in his
career…his career high in games with 7.0+ IP is 9 which he achieved in 2019 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…matched a season-high 10 strikeouts in his start on 6/9 against the Angels….this marked the 17th time in Castillo’s career that he has recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game (last: 5/27 vs. PIT).
1,000 AND COUNTING…recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in his outing on 5/22 against Oakland after striking out Shea Langeliers to begin the 5th inning…Castillo finished the night with 8 strikeouts.
STILL ROLLING…has allowed 28 walks while striking out 122 batters in 19 starts this season…his 28 walks are the 10th fewest in the majors…his 122 strikeouts on the season ranks 14th in the majors…Castillo’s 4.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 10th in the majors among pitchers with at least 19 starts.
OFF TO A GOOD START…his 199 strikeouts through his first 30 Mariners starts are the 2nd most in Mariners history through a pitchers first 30 starts…he ranks behind Robbie Ray (201).
MAKING THEM EARN IT…has allowed 37 earned runs through 19 starts this season which is tied for the 2nd fewest in the Major Leagues…his 2.96 ERA (37 ER,
112.1 IP) ranks tied 10th in the Major Leagues among qualified pitchers…he is tied with Justin Steele-CHC.
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has allowed 124 runners to reach base safely through 19 starts this season which is tied 3rd fewest in the Major Leagues…he also ranks among Major League leaders in opponents average (4th, .210/88×420) and WHIP (T-3rd, 1.033).
DOMINATE THE ZONE…recorded 32 strikeouts in the month of June…this was the 3rd consecutive season that Castillo has recorded 32 strikeouts in June (2021-c)…had 38 strikeouts in both March/April and May…this was the first time in his career that he has recorded the same number of strikeouts in back-to-back months…his career-high in strikeouts in a single month is 50 which he achieved in 2019.
KEEPING THEM IN THE YARD…gave up his first home run of the season on 4/28, breaking a 5-game span of allowing no home runs…this was his longest span of games to start a season without giving up a home run in his career.
NEARLY PERFECT…carried a perfect game into the 7th inning in his start against Colorado on 4/16…earned his second win of the season after pitching 7.0 scoreless innings and allowing only 2 hits while striking out a season-high 9 batters…the last pitcher to throw a perfect game in the Majors was Félix Hernández on 8/15/12.
HOT START…did not allow a run in either of his first 2 starts to begin the season, becoming just the third Mariners pitcher to do that, joining Félix Hernández 2007) and James Paxton (2017).
PREVIOUSLY ON OPENING DAY…became just the 3rd Mariners starter to hold the opponent scoreless in an Opening Day start, joining Félix Hernández (2007, 2013 & 2018) and Randy Johnson (1995)…he is the first player in franchise history to toss 6.0+ scoreless innings while allowing 1-or-fewer hits on Opening Day…his game score of 76 was the highest of any Opening Day starter this season.
FOR OPENERS…made his 3rd career Opening Day start on 4/30 vs. CLE and his first with the Mariners, becoming the 18th different pitcher to start on Opening Day in franchise history.
THE STONE WAS ROLLING…began his start on 9/7/22 vs. Chicago-AL by striking out the first 7 batters he faced, setting a franchise record for most strikeouts to begin a start, passing Michael Pineda (5 on 7/9/11 at LAA)…the 7 strikeouts also tied the AL record for most strikeouts to begin a game (done 4x, last: Blake Snell-TB, 6/3/18 vs. SEA).
