Good, Bad, and Ugly: Mariners’ Bullpen Comes Up Huge In Second Straight Win vs. Twins
Maybe the Seattle Mariners should just stay on the road.
Staying hot with their eighth victory in 11 games, the Mariners won again Tuesday, this time in a tight battle with the Twins where they prevailed by a score of 6-5. That’s the third straight win for Seattle, and their fourth victory in five games.
That means it’s time to look at the good, bad, and ugly from Tuesday’s win.
Bad: Luis Castillo
Bad. But it could have been worse. Castillo was ineffective during Tuesday’s no-decision, giving up seven hits in five innings while allowing five runs. He walked two and struck out three. The most disappointing part of the start is not just that he gave up the five spot, but he wasted a 5-0 lead in the process.
Castillo now has a 5.14 ERA in his five starts in June, and while he’s had more solid starts than clunkers, he hasn’t been nearly as good as he was in May. The Mariners are going to need more consistent outings from the veteran down the stretch. There’s plenty of reason to think he can get back on track in July.
Good: Donovan Solano
What a month it’s been for Solano. The veteran first baseman picked up two more hits, and poked a single up the middle in the third inning to extend Seattle’s lead to 5-0. He’s now slashing .266/.302/.376 on the season, and while that may not seem overly impressive on the surface, it looks considerably better when you keep in mind that slash was .131/.156/.148 just over a month ago. He’s been one of the most consistent hitters for Seattle since that time frame, and he’s done it against right-handed pitchers as well.
The Mariners decision to designate Rowdy Tellez for assignment didn’t come without controversy, but Solano’s play over the last six weeks made the decision a lot easier. The fact that he has been so good with the glove - he made another spectacular play in the first inning to turn a double play - shouldn’t be lost, either.
Good: The Third Inning
The Mariners have done a great job of putting together big innings as of late, and the third was another on Tuesday. Julio Rodriguez opened the scoring with a Julio Rodriguez sac fly, Cal Raleigh followed with an RBI single because of course he did, Luke Raley was hit with the bases loaded, and the aforementioned Donnie Barrels hit his two-run single immediately after. Anytime you can put together a five-run frame, you’re doing pretty well.
Ugly: The Offense Innings Four-Through-Eight
The offense after that dynamic third inning, however, was bad. Seattle didn’t really challenge from the fourth frame on, and while you have to give some blame to Castillo for the game being tied heading into the ninth inning - blame is an understatement - you also have to note that the Seattle offense fell apart over those four innings.
Good: Dan Wilson
This might have been my favorite managed game of the season. Wilson has been stubborn - my word choice, to be clear - in his usage of Andres Munoz in 2025. But with the score tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Wilson made the (subjectively) correct call to bring in his usual closer to face the heart of the lineup. Munoz rewarded the decision by striking out Carlos Correa, fanning Matt Wallner, and getting Ty France to ground out meekly to shortstop.
It’s understandable to want to make sure an arm as good as Munoz is available for a save situation, and it’s just as understandable to have roles that your best players are comfortable in. But using anyone but Munoz in that situation would have been a mistake. Kudos to Wilson for making the right call. Process and result met in perfect harmony.
Also, kudos to the rest of the bullpen as well. Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas were excellent after replacing Castillo. As was another guy we’ll talk about in a second.
Good: Julio Rodriguez
Probably the best hitless game Rodriguez has ever had. Not only did he drive in the first run of the game, but he came up huge in the ninth inning off one of the best closers in the sport in Jhoan Duran. Let’s also give credit to the hitters before J-Rod; Jorge Polanco was hit by a pitch, and Wilson made the wise decision to replace Polanco with the (much) faster Dylan Moore. Moore was able to get to third on a single by Cole Young - who is looking more and more comfortable at the plate, by the way - and Young advanced to second on a hit-by-pitch to J.P. Crawford.
That brought Rodriguez to the plate, and being honest, the first two pitches didn’t look good. He swung at two pitches that were clearly inside to put himself in an 0-2 hole. But he got a pitch in the middle of the plate, and he lifted it to right field to easily score Moore and give Seattle the lead.
When Julio puts the ball in the air, good things tend to happen. It’s fantastic to see him do just that over his last few games.
Really Good: Matt Brash
Congrats to Brash on his first save of 2025, and congrats to us for getting to watch him pitch. The right-hander struck out Willi Castro to open the frame and initiated a couple of weak ground balls to procure that save.
If Wilson is confident in going to Brash in save situations, it opens things up considerably for the Seattle Mariner bullpen. Simply put, it was pretty clear from the start of the year until, well, maybe right now that he didn’t feel comfortable in using anyone but Munoz in the ninth inning. The fact that Brash can get the job done in the ninth is a major boon for the club. It would be hard to overstate how much better the team can be if they can be flexible in that regard.
Really, really good win.
