Good, Bad, and Ugly: Mariners Take Series vs. Twins With Randy Arozarena Magic
Ah, a series win. I remember those.
After losing their last two series, and four of their previous six, the Seattle Mariners were able to eek out a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, and that victory along with Saturday’s allowed Seattle to take two-of-three from Minnesota.
Here’s the good, bad and ugly from Sunday’s walk-off win at T-Mobile Park:
Good: Luis Castillo
Good seems like quite the understatement. Castillo was able to strike out five over six shutout innings, and he generated an impressive 19 swings and misses among his 97 offerings. The slider in particular was impressive for the veteran right-hander, and the Minnesota lineup stood no chance against that pitch and a quality fastball.
That’s now four-of-five starts for Castillo that he’s been able to able to go at least six innings, and he’s lowered his ERA to an excellent 3.03 in that process. He’s no longer the ace of the staff, but it doesn’t matter. Castillo can flat-out pitch and he doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for the excellent work he’s done in his time with Seattle. That’s how I see it, anyway.
Bad: Andres Munoz
Just in case it wasn’t obvious for some reason, we’re not talking about Munoz’s past, nor are we talking about his future. We’re just talking about Sunday, and Sunday wasn’t good. He blew his second straight save, and didn’t appear to have anywhere close to his best command in doing so.
There’s no way to really know, but I can’t help but feel like some of the blame of his struggles over his last two games has to do with the layoff. Munoz went almost a full week without entering a game, and that’s a very long layoff for a pitcher that’s used to working at least every other day. It would certainly explain why Munoz struggled to locate both Friday and Sunday, anyway.
It may pay off in the long-term because you can’t overwork an arm like Munoz - you shouldn’t overwork anyone, for the record - but it’s disappointing to see him struggle again. Just to make everyone feel better, Munoz remains one of the best closers in baseball, and his struggles the last two outings see his ERA at 1.42. He’s gonna be fine, folks.
Good: Big. Freaking. Dumper.
This is getting ridiculous.
Big Dumper is inevitable. pic.twitter.com/DxjuQLE5l7— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 1, 2025
That solo homer off Chris Paddack (note: Paddack was fantastic today, and deserves a ton of credit for the offensive struggles Sunday) gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead, and also Raleigh a lead of his own. At time of publication, not a single player in baseball has more homers than Big Dumper at 23.
Spectacular. Cal Raleigh is a spectacular baseball player.
Good: Julio Rodriguez’s athleticism
it looked like Rodriguez was going to have a fairly nondescript game Sunday, as he was 0-for-2 with a walk before coming to the plate in the ninth. He fell down two strikes, but he was able to hit a chopper up the middle that Minnesota couldn’t corral for a base hit. After Raleigh struck out - a rare time where Big Dumper failed in a big situation - Rodriguez was able to steal second base with ease, and a poor throw put him at third base.
Rodriguez also made a terrific catch in center, and even if the offense isn’t quite at the level we’d love just yet from him, to say he’s added a ton of value to the Seattle Mariners over the first third of the year is the understatement of understatements.
Good: Walk-Off Randy
Rodriguez got to third with his wheels, but Arozarena won the game for the Mariners by lacing a single into center past a drawn-in infield to to give Seattle a much-needed win.
Arozarena has been scuffling as of late, but it’s pretty clear that no moment is too big for the outfielder. He’s literally one of the best postseason performers in the history of baseball, and we’ve seen some big moments in his short time with Seattle. He’s a flawed player who isn’t great at defense and he’ll have long spurts where the results are less-than-spectacular. One of those spurts is happening right now, in fact. But Arozarena is a very solid player, and he came through in a massive moment for Seattle, not only to get a win, but avoid a fourth-consecutive extra-inning game.
Thank you, Randy. I couldn’t take extras again. You probably feel the same.
