Game 16 - Doubled up and picked off
The Mariners lost their hottest hitter and the series finale against the Cubs on Sunday, both in spectacular fashion.
Despite what eventually transpired, the Mariners actually had a decent offensive performance overall. They swung at good pitches, made adjustments, and got the barrel to the ball. They had 10 total base runners and a few genuine scoring threats.
But the Mariners couldnāt push across runs when they needed it most. They got the first two batters on in both the seventh and eighth innings. Both rallies were eventually killed by double plays. The Mariners last push came on a Cal Raleigh single in the bottom of the ninth. Scott Servais used Julio as a pinch runner, but he was immediately picked off to end the game.
Julio started the game on the bench as a mental break and a chance to āunplug.ā This certainly wonāt help. I feel for him a bit. He started the year slow but was showing some positive signs at the plate. Then he had that game where he went 0-for with exit velocities of 105, 109, and 115, and heās looked pretty lost since. Whether thatās just a coincidence or not obviously not sure.
Dominic Canzone will likely miss some time after a brutal collision with the wall in left field. Itās disappointing given how well heād played over the last week or so. He had a 207 wRC+ in 27 plate appearances in April and the power was just starting to come through for him. The Mariners appear to be calling up prospect Jonatan Clase as a replacement. Iām interested to see what their lineup looks like on Monday and whether Servais goes with Clase or Luke Raley, who hasnāt seen much playing time so far.
Luis Castillo looked good on Sunday. He struck out nine and ran a 41% whiff rate, both season highs. It was his first good start of the season. Castillo had looked a bit off in his previous three outings. I donāt know the right word. Sloppy? Erratic? Itās not like his stuff had disappeared, but his command just wasnāt there. Missing when he needed a strike, catching too much of the plate when he needed a chase. Kate Preusser provided some good analysis of Sundayās outing at Lookout Landing.
Iām working on something more general about Castillo and the cold weather narrative that seems to follow him. Iām not sure his performance is weather dependent so much as month dependent, but some of my early regressions suggest he does get better as the season goes on. Perhaps Sunday was the first step in that direction. More on that in the future.