NEW YORK — Welcome to the Mariners and a playoff push, Luis.
It won’t always be like this in terms of run support, but you’ll get stellar defense every time you make a start, teammates that prepare manically, well most of them, and understand the idea of playing for each other. Oh, and there’s a fan base and city ready to burst for meaningful baseball in the final two months of the season and wants the postseason as much as you and your new teammates.
On a sun-drenched Wednesday at the big ballpark in the Bronx, Luis Castillo offered a glimpse as to why the Mariners made him their primary focus during the trade deadline and why he was the most coveted starting pitcher on the trade market.
The hard-throwing right-hander delivered a solid and at times spectacular start to lead the Mariners to a 7-3 victory over the Yankees.
Seattle gave him an unusual amount of run support, particularly considering they were facing Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
The expected pitchers duel between Castillo and in the series finale never materialized due to a Mariners offense that tried to put the game out of reach before the first out of the first inning was recorded.
Knowing Cole is most vulnerable in the first inning, the Mariners jumped all over him, scoring six runs before most of the crowd of 42,169 had even reached their seats.
Adam Frazier led off with a single and Jesse Winker worked a walk to bring Eugenio Suarez to the plate. Having snapped a 16-game homerless streak — a span of 69 plate appearances — on Tuesday night, Suarez made it consecutive games with a homer, launching a first-pitch slider into the seats in left field for a 3-0 lead.
The yelling from the Mariners dugout could be heard in the stunned stadium as Suarez rounded the bases. They were still celebrating Suarez’s blast when Carlos Santana jumped on a 3-1 fastball, sending a line drive into the seats in right-center for back-to-back homers.
The Mariners had a 4-0 lead before Cole had recorded an out. When J.P. Crawford singled to left field to make it five hitters with no outs, the grumbles from Yankee fans in attendance grew in their intensity and decibel level.
When Cole struck out Kyle Lewis, he received the expected Bronx cheer. But that sarcastic cheering turned devolved into boos when Jarred Kelenic muscled a 2-2 changeup over the wall in right field for his first hit since being recalled and a 6-0 lead.
Kelenic’s blast had Yankees manager Aaron Boone readying a reliever for Cole. But the veteran right-hander retired Luis Torrens and Sam Haggerty to end the first-inning carnage.
To his credit, Cole didn’t allow another run and didn’t crush the Yankees bullpen. He reeled in the start, holding Seattle scoreless over the next five innings.
Castillo held the Yankees to just one run in the first six innings, flashing a riding four-seam fastball at 99 mph, a sinking two-seam fastball at 98 mph, a 90-mph changeup reminiscent of King Felix and a nasty slider.
And that one run allowed wasn’t completely earned. After issuing a walk to Andrew Benintendi to start the second inning, he came back to strike out Gleyber Torres and get Aaron Hicks to ground out to first base.
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Castillo then appeared to have struck out Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a nasty 99-mph sinker at the bottom of the strike zone. However, old friend and everyone’s favorite umpire C.B. Bucknor froze on the pitch momentarily and called it a ball, much to the dismay of catcher Luis Torrens.
Kiner-Falefa, who had initially started moving to the dugout, thinking it was a strike, took advantage of the situation, bouncing a single up the middle to score Benintendi.
The Yankees pushed to add another run when Kiner-Falefa tried to score from first base on Kyle Higashioka’s double into the left field corner. But Crawford made a brilliant off-balance relay throw from the left field grass with the ball beating Kiner-Falefa by several steps for an easy out at home.
Understanding that the Mariners bullpen was taxed and priding himself in being a workhorse who can throw more than 100 pitches, Castillo was intent on finishing the seventh when he took the mound at 100 pitches. He retired the first two batters he faced and seemed poised to give Seattle seven complete innings. But Kiner-Falefa singled and Higashioka took advantaged of a first-pitch hanging slider, hitting a two-run homer to left to end Castillo’s outing.
His final line: 6 2/3 innings, three runs allowed on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 109 pitches with 66 strikes, including 12 swings and misses.
