Mariners win Cardinals series but could lose Luis Castillo

The Mariners beat the Cardinals 10-4 in the rubber match, but Luis Castillo will undergo an MRI after leaving early with a hamstring strain.

Sunday was undoubtedly a good day for the Seattle Mariners, from a results perspective. First up, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-4, to secure the three-game series.

Sunday also saw the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins lose, to help the Mariners in their quest for a playoff spot. As of Monday morning, the M’s are 4.5 games off the top of their division, and 3.5 games back of the final AL wild card spot.

However, as is customary with the Mariners, even when things are seemingly going right, something has to go wrong. In this instance, it was Luis Castillo being forced to exit Sunday’s game in the fourth inning.

Castillo was visibly in discomfort as he left the game, with what was later described as a hamstring strain. He initially felt some discomfort, after spinning around to avoid a throw which never came following a stolen base by the Cardinals.

The Rock speaks to the media

Then two pitches later, the three-time All-Star knelt down after his follow-through and was unable to continue. Speaking afterwards to the media through his interpreter, he said:

“That last pitch is when it felt worst, so that’s when I decided to just stop so it wouldn’t get any worse.”

Of course Mariners fans will be hoping that Castillo’s injury is nothing serious, although you would have to anticipate he will at least miss his next scheduled start. He said:

“The discomfort’s there. (Monday) we’re going to get some [tests] done, just to see what it is, but hopefully it’s not too bad.”

Clearly at this late stage of the season, losing Castillo for any period of time would be a significant blow to the Mariners’ playoff hopes. The rotation is the number one reason the club still has any hope of qualifying, doubling as arguably the best starting five in all of baseball.

In one respect, Castillo is actually having the worst statistical season of his time in Seattle. However, his worst is still pretty effective for the majority of starters in the Majors.

The 31-year-old has a 3.64 ERA, 3.93 FIP and 1.169 WHIP on the season. He also has a 11-12 record (which clearly isn’t all on him), while his 30 starts are tied for the most in the Majors.

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A durable Mariners rotation overall

Along these lines, the Mariners’ preferred rotation has been healthy for the majority of the 2024 season, making 134 out of a possible 144 starts. Bryan Woo is the only one to miss any significant time, being limited to 18 outings at the time of writing.

Emerson Hancock took the ball in nine of the other 10 starts for the Mariners, while Jhonathan Diaz had one outing of 5.1 innings. Hancock would make the most sense to replace Castillo in the rotation.

For now though, the Mariners and their fans wait with baited breath, for the outcome of Castillo’s MRI. Monday is an off day, with the club returning to action on Tuesday evening in the first of a two-game home series versus the San Diego Padres.

If Castillo is gone for any period of time, how do you see this impacting the Mariners’ playoff hope? Or do you already have little hope of them qualifying with so few games left? Let us know in the comments section below.