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buster olney
Seattle– luis castilloHer smile was small and deep when she heard it seattle mariners Manager Dan Wilson told him on the mound that he was being replaced. It was the third inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, with the Mariners trying to prevent toronto blue jaysWhich had already won a game on the Mariners’ home field. Castillo, who had thrown fewer pitches in any of his 247 starts in the major leagues, nodded in agreement – if not agreement – and handed the ball to his manager.
What happened before Wilson’s decision was bad; What happened next was even worse. Mariners’ relievers fail to stop Toronto attack lost 8-2And with the series tied at two games apiece, Seattle will go into Game 5 with its pitching options even more complicated for Wilson’s liking.
Every postseason decision is evaluated through the lens of results, which isn’t always fair but is the reality of October.
“You make decisions,” Wilson said after the game, “and you have to stick with them.”
Wilson reported that what the Mariners’ staff talked about going into Game 4 was that Seattle wanted to be aggressive going into the bullpen. When Toronto defeated the Mariners in Game 3, Wilson was able to stop all of his best relievers: gab spear, matt brash And andres munozmoreover, brian woo Wilson – who was Seattle’s best pitcher before suffering an injury on September 20 – will be available out of the bullpen if he gets a suitable opportunity.
Castillo is a three-time All-Star who has been among the Mariners’ most prolific rotation of starting pitchers, known for his strong reliability. He’s also had a rough year, with his swing-and-miss rate being the lowest of his career; Toronto had scored eight runs in 10 innings against him during the regular season.
In the first two innings Thursday, Castillo bowled fast, attacking the strike zone at 95 mph. But everything changed in the third innings. Isia Kiner-Falefa drew a double down the third base line, and with the count 3–2, andres gimenez Caught a slider into the right field stands, giving the Jays a 2-1 lead. Relievers began to hustle in the Seattle bullpen, and as Nathan Lukes And Vladimir Guerrero Jr.Single, Spear quickly warmed up. Lots of pitches in between, cal raleigh I will tell you later.
alejandro kirk Walked to load the bases. Wilson’s options in that moment: stick with Castillo, or call on Spears, a lefty, to counter the lefty hitting. dolton varsho,
Wilson emerged from the dugout and did not immediately signal to the bullpen; Rather, he spoke to Castillo and told him that he intended to meet with Speer. Castillo threw only 48 pitches, the fewest in his nine-year career. He returned to the dugout and watched the remaining innings of play from the top step.
Wilson said, “It’s a difficult decision and it wasn’t easy to tell him that. But that’s what we did.”
Varshaw fell 1-2 in the count, but fouled off two pitches and completed the count before drawing a walk. Toronto’s lead was 3-1. Spears struck out the next two hitters to avoid further trouble and Castillo greeted him with a high-five as he stepped into the dugout.
In the next innings, Spear got himself into trouble again. Kiner-Falefa single and sacrifice bunt, hitting right-handed. george springer Batted further.
At that moment Wilson had three options:
He could have called on Brash, his best set-up man, to face Springer. He could effectively force Spears to pitch around Springer. Or, with a left hand hitting Lukes on the deck and Guerrero coming in behind, he could allow Spears to face Springer.
Wilson walked with a third option, and Springer laced a double into the left field corner, increasing the Jays’ lead to 4–1. By the time Luke exited the field, Spears – who was the best left-handed option in the Seattle bullpen – had thrown 32 pitches, more than in any outing in his career.
Wilson called Brash into the game after the Mariners trailed by three runs – perhaps not a situation the manager had envisioned when his team was leading the series. Seattle’s bullpen had to cover 20 outs on Thursday.
bryce miller Starting Friday, the Mariners have one last chance to win a Championship Series game in front of their home crowd. This series is guaranteed to return to Toronto — but whether it does depends on Seattle’s lead with Miller and the bullpen that was heavily utilized in Thursday’s loss.
“We used the bullpen guys tonight, but they got pretty good rest again,” Wilson said. “So I think we’re still in a good position in terms of our bullpen and we also have Brian, and we’ll use him when the time is right.”
It is unclear how Castillo felt about all this. In his time with the Mariners, he has been known to be persistent in answering questions, good or bad, following his debut. But by the time reporters were allowed into the Mariners clubhouse after Game 4, Castillo was gone.
