SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 7-game road trip (3-1) tonight with the 2nd of 4 games against the Houston Astros (1-0)…the Mariners are coming off a series win at San Francisco (2-1) and have won back-to-back series…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT Sports with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink on the call…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners defeated the Astros by a 5-1 score in last night’s series opener…the Mariners have won 3 of 4 to begin the road trip and 5 of their last 6 since July 1…Seattle is 34-17 when scoring at least 4 runs and 9-26 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 24-20 at T-Mobile Park and 19-23 on the road this season…they are 13-18 in day games and 30-25 at night.
- Christmas In July – Seattle is 37-18 in July games since 2021, including 5-1 so far this season.
- Zay Day – When RHP Isaiah Campbell makes his first appearance, it will mark his Major League debut…five Mariners have made their MLB debut this season: RHP Ty Adcock, RHP Bryce Miller, RHP Juan Then, RHP Bryan Woo and INF José Caballero.
- Close to .500 – Seattle has stayed within 4 games above-or-below the .500 mark over each of its last 59 games since April 30.
- Hold Me Closer – RHP Paul Sewald ranks 7th in the AL in saves (16)…Sewald is 2-0 with 16 saves and a 3.31 ERA (13 ER, 35.1 IP) with 11 walks and 49 strikeouts in 36 appearances this season.
THE PEOPLE’S PITCHER…tonight’s starter Luis Castillo is 5-6 with a 3.05 ERA (34 ER, 100.1 IP) with 28 walks and 114 strikeouts in 17 starts this season…among American League pitchers, Castillo ranks 7th in ERA, T7th in strikeouts, 9th in WHIP (1.066) and 3rd in opponent batting average (.211)…the right-hander has gone at least 5.0 innings in all 17 of his starts this season, and 6.0+ IP in 10 of 17.
KING GEORGE…last night’s starter George Kirby twirled a gem against the Astros, limiting them to one run over 6.2 innings of work…Kirby registered his 14th quality start this season, tied for most in the Majors with Marcus Stroman-CHC…Kirby is 8-7 with a 3.09 ERA (37 ER, 107.2 IP) with 10 walks and 89 strikeouts in 17 starts this season…he leads the Majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.90) and walks-per-9 innings (0.8)…George has walked more than one batter in just one of 17 outings (2 BB, 7/1 vs. TB) this season.
WELCOME TO THE J-ROD SHOW…center fielder Julio Rodríguez is the third Mariners player to make multiple All-Star teams at age 22-or-younger, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (3x) and Alex Rodriguez (3x)…in 84 games this season, Julio is batting .251 (88×351) with 50 runs, 17 doubles, 1 triple, 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 27 walks, getting on base at a .312 clip, slugging .416 with a .727 OPS.
STARTING FIVE…the Mariners starting rotation over the team’s last 22 games (6/12-c) leads the Majors in ERA (2.68), ranking ahead of Philadelphia (2.98) and San Diego (3.23)…during that span, Seattle starters are 9-6 with a 2.68 ERA (39 ER, 131.0 IP) with 38 walks and 119 strikeouts…overall this season, Seattle ranks 2nd in quality starts (44) to Minnesota (45).
UR NASTY…the Mariners bullpen is 14-14 with 19 saves and a 3.78 ERA (120 ER, 285.2 IP) with 110 walks (11 intentional) and 314 strikeouts through 86 games this season…Seattle’s bullpen ranks 3rd in MLB in fWAR (3.5) behind Baltimore (4.3) and Atlanta (3.6)…Seattle relievers have allowed the 2nd-fewest home runs (28) in the Majors behind only the Yankees (27).
FOLLOW THE LEADER…J.P. Crawford went 1-for-3 with a home run and walk last night, belting his 8th home run of the season to get within one of his career-high 9 HR in 2021…J.P. has hit safely in 7 consecutive games (6/30-c), batting .423 (11×26) with a 1.323 OPS in that stretch…over his last 21 games (6/10-c), he is batting .304 (24×79) with 14 runs, 7 doubles, 5 homers, 10 RBI and 17 walks, getting on base at a .423 clip, slugging .582 with a 1.005 OPS.
GENO’S MONSTER GAME…Eugenio Suárez went 3-for-4 with 3 extra-base hits last night, smacking a double and 2 home runs with 3 RBI…it was Geno’s first multi-homer game of the season and his first since Sept. 11, 2022 vs. Atlanta (which included a walk-off)…over his last 24 games (6/10-c), the Mariners third baseman is batting .294 (25×85) with 13 runs, 8 doubles, 5 homers, 17 RBI and 6 walks, getting on base at a .350 clip, slugging .565 with a .915 OPS.
YOUNG PITCHING…Mariners pitchers age 26-or-younger have amassed 8.7 fWAR this season, by far the most in the Majors and ranking ahead of Miami (6.3) and Cincinnati (5.0)…Seattle pitchers age 26-oryounger George Kirby (2.5 fWAR, 2nd to Spencer Strider-ATL, 2.6), Logan Gilbert (2.2, 5th), Bryce Miller (1.3, 19th), Matt Brash (1.1, T23rd), Bryan Woo (0.7, T36th) and Andrés Muñoz (0.7, T36th) all rank within the top-50 of pitchers age 26-or-younger in fWAR.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Cal Raleigh reached base safely 3 times in last night’s win, going 1-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Seattle catchers Tom Murphy and Raleigh have combined to hit .344 (21×61) over their last 14 games since June 22?…during that span, Mariners backstops have combined for 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 11 RBI and 7 walks, getting on base at a .406 clip, slugging .623 with a 1.029 OPS.
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 5-6 3.05 17/17 100.1 79 41 34 28 114 15
Home 5-2 2.44 11/11 66.1 46 21 18 16 80 7
Road 0-4 4.24 6/6 34.0 33 20 16 12 34 8
vs. HOU 0-0 5.14 1/1 7.0 5 4 4 1 5 1
Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 53-61 3.53165/165 958.0 801 419 376 332 1051 113
Home 32-28 3.02 86/86 522.1 400199 175 158 603 57
Road 21-33 4.15 79/79 435.2 401220 201 174 448 56
vs. HOU 1-0 4.15 2/2 13.0 7 6 6 7 12 1
ABOUT CASTILLO…
- The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 18th start of the season, 2nd against the Astros…he is also making his 166th Major League start and 3rd career start against Houston.
- 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…ND in last start on 7/2 vs. TBR…allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 7 hits (2 HR) in 6.0 innings pitched while striking out 6.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR…was named to his third All-Star team on July 2 (also: 2019, 2022)…he will be joined by teammates George Kirby and Julio Rodríguez.
INNINGS EATER…has made 4 starts this season where he has pitched at least 7.0 innings…his 4 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 114 batters in 17 starts this season…his 28 walks are tied for the 11th fewest in the American League…his 114 strikeouts on the season ranks tied 7th in the AL…Castillo’s 4.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 7th in the AL among pitchers with at least 17 starts.
OFF TO A GOOD START…his 175 strikeouts through his first 25 Mariners starts are the most in Mariners history through a pitchers first 25 starts…he ranks ahead of Robbie Ray (173) and Michael Pineda (156).
MAKING THEM EARN IT…has allowed 34 earned runs through 17 starts this season which is tied for the 7th fewest in the Major Leagues…his 3.05 ERA (34 ER, 100.1 IP) ranks 13th in the Major Leagues among qualified pitchers…he ranks behind Kevin Gausman-TOR (3.04).
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has allowed 114 runners to reach base safely through 17 starts this season which is the 5th fewest in the Major Leagues… he also ranks among Major League leaders in opponents average (T-5th, .211/79×374) and WHIP (5th, 1.066).
DOMINATE THE ZONE…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 careeer-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.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will go for their 50th win of the season tonight in the second game of a four-game series with their division rival Mariners…on the mound tonight for the Astros will be RHP Hunter Brown, who has not yet started against the Mariners, but did toss 3.0 scoreless innings of relief in two appearances against them in the 2022 ALDS…he’ll be opposed by RHP Luis Castillo and the Mariners.
BROTHER BROWN: RHP Hunter Brown has been one of the top rookies in the Majors in 2023, posting a 6-5 mark with a 3.76 ERA in his 16 starts…Brown currently leads all rookies in pitching WAR (2.1) while topping AL rookies in wins, innings pitched (91) and strikeouts (103).
ROOKIE RUMBLE: Of the nine starters the Astros have used this season, four are rookies, including tonight’s scheduled starter RHP Hunter Brown…Houston has received 34 starts from rookie pitchers, ranking third in the Majors behind Oakland (45) and Cleveland (40)…all nine starting pitchers used by the Astros in 2023 are products of their minor league system.
WINNING WAYS: The Astros, who are going for their 50th win of the season, enter tonight having won seven of their last nine games, while going 10-5 in their last 15…their winning ways have cut their deficit in the AL West to just 2.0 games behind the Rangers, which is the Astros smallest division deficit since they were also 2.0 games back after a win on May 28.
THIS WEEKEND’S GIVEAWAYS: The Astros will have giveaways all three days this weekend, including 10,000 fans in attendance receiving a Mattress Mack Bobblehead, presented by Gallery Furniture, tonight…tomorrow, 10,000 fans will receive a Yordan Alvarez Throwback Jersey, presented by Veritex Community Bank, and on Sunday 10,000 fans will receive a Plug-In Phone Fan, presented by Reliant.
THE 2023 DRAFT: The 2023 MLB Draft will commence on Sunday night at 6 p.m. CT with the first two rounds being announced that evening…the Astros will make two picks Sunday night, their first-round (#28 overall) and second-round (#61) selections…the draft will pick up on Monday (rounds 3-10) and conclude on Tuesday (rounds 11-20)…the Astros will make their Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Gross available via Zoom after each day of the draft…additionally, the Astros will make every effort to make their first round pick available via Zoom on Sunday night.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros had their four-game winning streak snapped last night with a 5-1 loss to the Mariners… the offense was limited to just six singles and a double on the night, which snapped their consecutive games with a homer streak at 17…LF Corey Julks (3×4) had the Astros only RBI on the night, while C Yainer Diaz (2×4) tacked on a pair of hits.
THRU THE TURNSTILES: Last night marked the 12th sellout of the season at Minute Maid Park…the Astros have now welcomed 1,651,647 fans to Minute Maid Park this season for an average of 37,537 fans per game, which puts them on pace to top the 3 million mark for the season.
PENA’S PALS: SS Jeremy Peña will host the seventh Peña’s Pals of the 2023 season, this time honoring kids from Buna Independent School District…Peña’s Pals is a new program developed by Jeremy in partnership with the Astros Foundation, that celebrates kids and their development in academics, character building and making healthy choices.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- 2B Jose Altuve, who was placed on the 10-day IL yesterday (retro to July 4), has been diagnosed with a left oblique strain… Altuve is hoping to return shortly after the All-Star break.
- LF Yordan Alvarez (right oblique strain) has been hitting in the batting cage and has been running and taking fly balls on the field…he also stood in on live BP on Tuesday but did not swing…Alvarez was originally placed on the IL on June 9 and was given a timetable of four-plus weeks for his return.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has been shut down from all baseball activities for three to four days…prior to this shutdown, Brantley had progressed to taking BP and throwing and running on the field.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) threw 20 pitches in live BP on Tuesday, facing four hitters…a decision on when he’d begin a rehab assignment has not yet been determined.
- LHP Framber Valdez missed his last turn in the rotation due to right ankle soreness…he will return to the Astros rotation for a start on Saturday.
THIEVERY: Since June 9, the date the Astros placed LF Yordan Alvarez on the IL, the Astros have 32 stolen bases in their 25 games, which ranks second in the Majors in that time span, trailing only the Reds (43)…prior to Alvarez’s IL stint, the Astros had 32 stolen bases in their first 63 games.
TUCK’S TEAR: All-Star RF Kyle Tucker is riding a season-high, 13-game hitting streak, in which he’s batting .392 (20×51) with a 1.171 OPS…Tucker’s streak is the longest active hitting streak in the AL and is the third-longest active streak in the Majors…Tucker still has work to do to reach his career-long streak of 17 games, set from Aug. 3-26, 2022.
THE INCREDIBLE JULKS: LF Corey Julks has hit .688 (11×16) with a .706 OBP and three steals over his last four games… this run continues a hot streak for Julks that dates back over his last 15 games, in which he’s hitting .415 (22×53) with four doubles, seven RBI, five stolen bases, a .500 OBP and a 1.047 OPS…he’s walked nine times, compared to just eight strikeouts in that span.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 6-5 3.76 16 16 91.0 84 42 38 30 103
CAREER: 8-5 3.23 23 18 111.1 99 44 40 37 125
VS. SEA W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: – – – – – – – – – –
CAREER: 0-0 0.00 2 0 3.0 2 0 0 1 1
LAST START – 7/1 AT TEX: worked around a career-high 10 hits to allow 3 runs through 4.0 IP, striking out 6 batters without surrendering a walk…was the 1st time through his first 3 career outings vs. TEX in which he allowed a run, after tossing 13.0 scoreless IP through his first 2 career starts vs. them, including his Major League debut on 9/5/22.
HISTORIC START: his 3.23 career ERA is the 5th-lowest by an Astro through their first 23 career appearances…his 119 career strikeouts are the 4th-most by an Astros pitcher through their 1st 23 career outings.
- started his career 5-0 through his first 12 games (7 starts)…per Elias, was 1st Astros pitcher to win their first 5 decisions since RHP Josh James won his first 7 decisions from 2018-19.
GROUND CONTROL: ranks 2nd among AL pitchers with a 55.3 ground ball percentage, trailing only teammate Framber Valdez (57.6%)…is the 5th-best ground ball percentage among Major League pitchers.
STRIKEOUT KING: from May 14-May 31, he recorded 8+ K’s in 4 consecutive starts…the last Astros rookie to strike out 8+ batters in 4 consecutive starts was RHP Roy Oswalt, who did so in 6 straight games from Aug. 14-Sept. 9 in 2001…Brown owns 1 of 30 all-time streaks from Astros pitchers of 4+ starts with 8+ strikeouts, with LHP Framber Valdez the last to do so at 4 games from Aug. 4-Sept. 12 in 2022.
VS. SEA: will be making his 1st regular-season appearance vs. the Mariners but faced them twice in relief during last year’s ALDS..delivered 2 IP of scoreless relief in the Astros’ 18-inning 1-0 victory to clinch a series sweep.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among qualified AL rookies, ranks 1st in strikeouts (90), 1st in innings (91.0IP), 1st in wins (6), 1st in opponent batting average (.247), and 1st in WHIP (1.20).
DIESEL: is averaging 91.9 mph with his slider, which is the hardest slider among all MLB pitchers, ahead of SD RHP Brent Honeywell (91.8 mph), per Baseball Savant.
AMONG THE BEST: According to WAR produced by STATS, Brown has been one of the most valuable rookie in the AL this season with a 2.1 WAR…he is behind only TEX IF Josh Jung (2.4) and NYY IF Anthony Volpe (2.3)…the Astros have had a top five finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting in four straight seasons: SS Jeremy Peña (5th in 2022), RHP Luis Garcia (2nd in 2021), RHP Cristian Javier (3rd in 2020) and LF Yordan Alvarez (1st in 2019).
SOLID STREAK: made back-to-back starts on April 9 and April 15 in which he recorded at least 7.0 IP without allowing an ER…the last Astros pitcher to do so was LHP Scott Kazmir, who made 2 such starts in a row in 2015 (July 24-July 30, 2015).
