TORONTO — After striking out the side in the seventh inning in his seemingly effortless fashion, whipping triple-digit fastballs with terrifying movement past hitters, freezing them with knee-buckling sliders and mixing in a few shake-your-head change-ups just because he could, Luis Castillo flashed a grin, removing his hat and offering his trademark fist pump that looks like a celebratory uppercut.
This is why the Mariners made acquiring the 29-year-old right-hander their priority at the Major League Baseball trade deadline — this setting, this moment, this performance.
Always at ease on the mound regardless of the situation with a heartbeat that seems to remain at resting level, Castillo delivered the best postseason pitching performance in Mariners team history. And this is an organization that had Randy Johnson.
