Analysis

Good, Bad, and Ugly: Luis Castillo Dominates, Offense Struggles in 1-0 win vs. Pirates

Hey. A win’s a win.

Thanks almost entirely to the pitching, the Seattle Mariners were able to squeak by with a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of a three-game set to guarantee a series win and a winning homestand.

Here’s the good, bad, and ugly from Saturday’s victory over the Bucs:

Good: Luis Castillo

Good doesn’t even begin to describe it. He allowed just two singles in the contest while working seven innings with eight strikeouts and zero free passes. He was able to procure 18 swings and misses in the contest, and he had the Pittsburgh offense off-balance for the entirety of the contest.

Castillo has had a few clunkers in 2025, but the overall body of work doesn’t get enough attention. He now has a 3.31 ERA on the season, and to say he mostly gets the job done is quite the understatement. The fact that he may be their fourth most talented starter just tells you how good this staff is.

Good: Luis Castillo Again

He was that good. He deserves two sections.

Good: Brash and Munoz

The Mariners needed to pitch basically perfectly because of the offense - more on that later - but they basically did just that. Brash did allow a walk after relieving Castillo, but he was able to pick up a strikeout and two weak grounders to keep the Pirates off the board.

Munoz, on the other hand, was dominant. As dominant as we’ve seen from him in a while. He struck out two, threw 9-of-10 pitches for strikes, and the Pittsburgh hitters had almost literally no chance against him.

When the Mariners have a lead after seven innings and Brash alongside Munoz are available, you’re in trouble. Big, big trouble.

Bad: The offense

It almost didn’t matter. The Mariners were awful after a solid offensive game the night before, something that’s become too recurring of a theme. Julio Rodriguez walked and stole a base, but had three other poor at-bats. Randy Arozarena - hot as he has been for the month of July/end of June - was not near his best. He struck out four times in the game with three of those looking (it’s worth noting he should have drawn a free pass himself, but a horrific call prevented that from happening). The only effective offensive player was Cal Raleigh, as he drew three free passes - one of those intentional.

There are just too many offensive games like this. Sure there are some fun ones, with yesterday being a good example. But you can’t follow it up with one-run efforts. Can’t do it. Gotta be better.

Ugly (Potentially): Paul Skenes tomorrow

Oof. Now, the Mariners have had some good days at the plate against some great pitchers like Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Max Fried, and more. But Skenes has the best stuff in baseball and it’s not close, and it could be really ugly. Thank goodness they get this win, and that’s thanks in large part to Castillo and…

Good: Ben Williamson

First, credit to Jorge Polanco, who came up with a big two-strike double on his birthday while also giving him his 999th hit. But after Luke Raley and Dom Canzone failed to get the job done, it looked like Polanco was going to be left on the pond. Enter Williamson, who lashed a double into the opposite-field gap to give Seattle their first - and last - run of the game.

Williamson also played a solid game defensively because of course he did, and he’s done just enough at the plate to be more helper than hurter for this club. They don’t win this one without him.