On a beautiful July evening at T-Mobile Park, the Seattle Mariners eked out a 1–0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, relying on a late run. The contest was a classic pitchers’ duel, with Luis Castillo dominating through seven shutout frames and Ben Williamson delivering the lone run with a sixth-inning RBI double. In a season defined by tight margins in the AL Wild Card race, this win kept the Mariners two games ahead of the Red Sox and three up on Texas for that final berth. For the Pirates, this is the second game in a row at Seattle they have been unable to create a run.
Luis Castillo lived up to his reputation as “Rock-Solid,” firing seven innings of two-hit, no-walk baseball with eight strikeouts—his season high. He mixed a four-seam fastball that touched 97.2 mph with a biting slider and two-seamer, amassing strikeouts with each pitch type (four four-seam, three two-seam, one slider) and closing the seventh by fanning Oneil Cruz for his trademark fist pump moment. It marked his second outing of the year with at least seven innings and zero free passes, echoing his May 19 gem against Chicago’s White Sox.
Castillo’s command was evident: he chased only 26.8 percent of batters out of the zone, struck out 12.2 percent of hitters he faced, and induced a 44.8 percent ground-ball rate—all strong indicators of his spike in performance as the season wore on. By keeping Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales in check, he allowed no Pirates runner beyond first base and left with his record even at 5–5 despite scant run support.
Following Castillo’s exit, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz navigated the eighth and ninth innings with textbook efficiency. Brash struck out one and issued one walk over a perfect eighth, while Muñoz retired the side in order with nine strikes in 10 pitches, missing an immaculate inning by one ball. That 20th save moved Muñoz into elite company, marking his 20th save in 25 opportunities and underscoring Seattle’s lockdown back end.
For the Pirates, relievers Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana held the Mariners scoreless after Williamson’s double but could not answer the lone run. Santana, in particular, limited Seattle to zero hits in the eighth, though left fielder Randy Arozarena reached third on a walk beforehand but was stranded.
Sunday’s series finale between the Pirates and Mariners at T-Mobile Park will feature a tantalizing pitching duel between two right-handers at very different stages of their careers:
Paul Skenes (PIT): 4–7, 2.03 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 115 K The second year phenom has been electric, averaging over 6 innings per start and logging 12 quality starts in 18 outings. He’s coming off five scoreless innings against St. Louis and has held opponents to a .198 average this season.
George Kirby (SEA): 2–4, 4.85 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 41 K Kirby has been inconsistent but effective in stretches. He tossed six strong innings in his last start against Kansas City, allowing just one earned run on three hits. He’s aiming for his third straight quality start.
First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. ET, and with a betting line over/under of just 7 runs, oddsmakers are expecting another low-scoring affair. Should be a fun one to watch if you’re into power arms and tight margins.
(photo courtesy of MLB.com)