Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Win Against Chicago White Sox
The Mariners got through an eventful series against the White Sox and earned some valuable momentum going into a six-game road trip
Video Transcript
Hey everyone, Tarren Kovach here with Round Table Sports for a quick Seattle Mariners discussion.
So for those of you who missed it, the Mariners closed out their home stand and their series against the Chicago White Sox on a good note, beating the White Sox 5-4 and earning the series win in the process.
And, here's a few of my takeaways, from that series.
the first one being, the Mariners kind of, running out of options for Luis Castillo at this point.
Now, Tuesday was the first time the Mariners tried their, piggyback experiment with, Bryce Miller and Castillo.
with, for those of you who don't know what a piggyback is, essentially one starting pitcher starts the game, goes multiple innings, and one starting pitcher is scheduled to come in after them and, also throw multiple, multiple innings.
Well, Miller got the start Tuesday and protected the 1-0 lead for most of it.
went five and two-thirds, struck out seven, allowed one hit, and walked one.
after Jos Urquidy came in as a pivot man for the final out, Luis Castillo went to the game, pitched the seventh and the eighth, went into the ninth.
And unfortunately, the ninth inning was when things started to unravel.
He, walked to the leadoff batter, hit another, struck out one i- in the ninth inning.
And then, closer Andrs Muoz entered the game, inherited the two runners who reached via Castillo's free bases, with one out, and then allowed back-to-back RBI singles to the White Sox, which resulted in the 2-1 loss for the Mariners.
Castillo has over a six ERA this year.
6.41, has struck out 47 in 46.1 innings pitched across ten outings, nine of which were starts.
Castillo's the most experienced, pitcher on the rotation, three-time All-Star, also the highest paid, $24.15 million salary this year, and also arguably the most respected.
But at this point, unless Castillo turns a, turns a corner and turns it quick, then, if the next piggyback outing is also not successful, then the Mariners have to realistically consider, placing him on the, at the very least, place him in the bullpen.
the next takeaway I had, the Colt Emerson era is officially here.
Emerson made his Major League debut right before the series against the White Sox in the series finale against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
but, the series against the White Sox, Emerson had his first hit, which was a three-run, also his first home run, a three-run shot to right field in game one on Monday.
he only had one hit in nine at-bats against the White Sox, is 1 for 11 through his first four games.
but, showed some really competitive at-bats, which is, for a 20-year-old prospect, even one as highly regarded as Emerson, is encouraging to see.
after getting his first two games at third base, starting at third base in his first two games, Emerson also, played shortstop, his natural position, the final two games of the series against Chicago and, played well in that role, except for, a double in We- or not a double, except for an error in Wednesday's game.
So, depending on whether or not, JP Crawford is, you know, he's testing out third base, whether or not that's successful, there's a very good chance that, Emerson playing shortstop, which is something that many people didn't think would happen, at the very least not at that position until 2027.
That happens a lot sooner.
but General Manager Justin Hollander has already said that this isn't a tryout, despite Emerson being called up, when Brendan Donovan was placed on the IL.
This is a runway for him.
He will likely be with the team for the rest of the year, and, time will tell whether or not, Emerson plays an impact on, this team that entered the year with legitimate World Series aspirations.
And then the final takeaway I had is the Mariners starting to get healthy.
Now, within the last week, the Mariners did see Donovan, like I mentioned before, go on the IL, also starting catcher Ca- Cal Raleigh.
both of them heading to the shelf with lingering injuries.
But, the Mariners did also get some players back.
They had Patrick Wisdom back, who, only had one hit in, the last two games of the series against Chicago, but did have two RBIs, including an RBI double in Wednesday's game.
they also got, right-handed reliever Matt Brash back, who threw a scoreless seventh inning in the series finale Wednesday, two strikeouts, one hit.
And, left-handed reliever Gabe Speier is, nearing a return as well, made his, first rehab outing with the High A Everett Aquasox on Wednesday.
struck out two, allowed three earned runs on three hits, two of which were homers, in one inning of work.
the Mariners have been hit hard with, with injuries this year.
Victor Robles, another key contributor who's out.
But, depending on how things go with, Cal and Brendan's respective injuries, it seems like that, the Mariners could very well turn a corner health-wise, here in the next little bit.
And considering how they're still right in the thick of not only the American League West race, but also the playoff race with the wild card spots, that'll be obviously very, very important.
For more Seattle Mariners news and updates, make sure to follow me on social media, @tarren_kovach.
Also, join our Mariners community for free and join in on the discussion by scanning the QR code right there at the top left of the screen.
