Mariners tie for AL West lead after salvaging road series win vs. Royals

KANSAS CITY – Their final road series of the regular season will also be perhaps the most important regular-season road series for the Seattle Mariners in recent memory.

With their 2-0 win over the Royals on Thursday afternoon to take two of three at Kauffman Stadium, the Mariners head to Houston to face their American League rivals in a three-game series that could ultimately determine the winner of the American League West.

Fittingly, the two teams will start the series in a tie atop the division with matching 84-69 records and there will be a national TV audience for the finale on ESPN’s Sunday night baseball.

“This is going to be fun,” manager Dan Wilson said. “To get some momentum today is big. We’ve got to be prepared, and we will be. this is why you play. It’s exciting. I think everybody is ready to go. Now it’s game on in Houston.”

Since the Mariners grabbed the lead in the AL West in late April, holding it for most of May before being overtaken by the Astros in early June, this final road series at what is now being called Daikin Park has always loomed as pivotal if not defining for the division crown. The Mariners and Astros are the only two teams to lead hold leads in the division since April 26.

“You just go out there and do what you’ve been doing,” said Cal Raleigh. “You don’t go there and put more on it than you have to. You play your game, you play loose, you play free, play hard and the results are a byproduct of the process. Go out there and let it rip and whatever happens, happens.”

The Mariners always knew their path to a division title would go through Houston.

“For about the last 10 years, they’ve been the team to beat in the West,” Raleigh said. “They play well in that park. They are good a team. They’ve been there and done that before. But we have a chance to go in there and do something special this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.”

Less than 24 hours after seeing their 10-game winning streak end in disappointing fashion, the Mariners showed little signs of frustration before the game and looked like a team on a winning streak, holding the Royals scoreless over nine innings.

“A good win today,” Wilson said. “Really nice way to finish with the series win.”

The Mariners’ 10th shutout victory of the season started with an outstanding effort from Luis Castillo.

The veteran right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits with no walks and three strikeouts to set the tone and improve to 10-8 on the season.

“A great job by The Rock today,” Wilson said. “He gave us six really strong innings. I thought he threw the ball very well. He was ahead in the count almost all day long. He had a great changeup to keep them at bay. He made good pitches all day long and kind of controlled the game for us in the first six.”

The Royals only had one runner reach second base over Castillo’s six innings. In the second inning, Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier came up with back-to-back one-out singles, neither of which was hit very hard. But Castillo stranded the runners, getting Jac Caglione to pop up to second and striking out Carter Jensen swinging to end the inning. Castillo gave a signature fist pump after ending the inning scoreless.

“It was big,” he said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “I tried to do it like I’ve done before with the fist bump where I get down on one knee. But knees aren’t as good as they used to be. The important thing for me was being able to get out of that situation.”

Castillo allowed just one more baserunner – a single to Jensen – the rest of the way. Retiring 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

His teammates didn’t provide much run support during his outing. Facing right-hander Stephen Kolek, who pitched in the Mariners farm system for three seasons (2021-23), Seattle mustered just one run over the first six innings.

In the second inning, Josh Naylor led off with a single to right. He scored moments later on Jorge Polanco’s double into the right field corner for an early 1-0 lead. Seattle’s chances to add to that lead ended when Polanco was doubled off at second on Dom Canzone’s line drive to left field.

Kolek, who isn’t overpowering with a fastball that tops out at 95-mph, retired 16 batters in a row following the Polanco double.

Seattle ended Kolek’s outing with one out in the eighth in the oddest of ways. After Canzone appeared to ground out to second base, the Mariners asked for a replay review, believing that second baseman Michael Massey had violated the no-shift rules, starting with his feet on the outfield grass.

After a lengthy replay review, Seattle’s challenge was confirmed and Canzone was awarded first base while Massey was charged with an error.

The Royals lifted Kolek for reliever Daniel Lynch IV while the Mariners immediately pinch ran for Canzone with Victor Robles. The extra out proved useful after Leo Rivas flew out to right field. Instead of the inning being done, J.P. Crawford came to the plate. He won the left-on-left battle, pulling a groundball down the line past first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and into the right field corner. Robles, who was stealing on the pitch, was able to score from first even after pausing at second base to look for the ball.

The extra run wasn’t provided cushion, but wasn’t needed. The Mariners bullpen was just as effective as Castillo. Eduard Bazardo worked an easy 1-2-3 seventh inning. Pitching for the third day in a row, Gabe Speier worked around a leadoff infield single from Caglione for a scoreless eighth.

Andrés Muñoz secured the shutout, striking out Adam Frazier to strand a pair of runners on base and notching his 36th save of the season.