<\/p>\n
SEATTLE \u2013 Luis Castillo was a bit better. The Mariners\u2019 offense was most decidedly not.<\/p>\n
Playing without injured star Cal Raleigh for the second day in a row, the Mariners\u2019 offense offered no thump and no fight in a 4-1 loss before 39,408 at T-Mobile Park and were swept by a Royals squad that came into the series with one of the worst records in baseball.<\/p>\n
Kansas City left-hander Kris Bubic held the Mariners to one run on four hits over seven sharp innings, a second straight sleepy performance from Seattle\u2019s offense on a picture-perfect spring weekend around the Puget Sound.<\/p>\n
All four of the Mariners\u2019 hits were singles. They are now 4-7 against left-handed starting pitchers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll make the adjustments that we have to,\u201d M\u2019s manager Dan Wilson said. \u201cBaseball is about consistency, and that\u2019s what we want to get to. Right now, it seems like we\u2019re going through some swings back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a promising stretch in which they\u2019d won 6 of 7 to climb back to .500, the Mariners (16-19) came home and lost three straight for what was supposed to be a feel-good weekend built around Randy Johnson\u2019s number retirement.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Mariners placed top reliever Matt Brash on the injured list Friday, learned of Raleigh\u2019s side injury Saturday and then got swept Sunday.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Mariners will play host to an Atlanta team that owns the best record in baseball at 25-10.<\/p>\n
Bainbridge Island, Washington, native JR Ritchie, Atlanta\u2019s 22-year-old rookie right-hander, is scheduled to start Monday\u2019s series opener against the Mariners\u2019 Logan Gilbert.<\/p>\n
Castillo was sharp early, throwing three scoreless innings to open Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old right-hander was up to 98.1 mph early. It was his fastest-thrown pitch in any game since May 2024, an encouraging bounce-back after his fastball had dipped to an average of 93.5 mph last Monday in an 11-4 loss in Minnesota, played in some dreadfully wet conditions.<\/p>\n
Castillo credited the warm weather \u2013 75 degrees at first pitch \u2013 for helping him feel better on the mound Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Minnesota, we had to battle some the weather (and) we weren\u2019t able to get too comfortable,\u201d Castillo said, via team interpreter Freddy Llanos. \u201cBut based on this weather, I was able to get that velocity (back), and definitely happy that I saw that velocity tick up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Royals broke through with three runs in the fourth inning against Castillo, after loading the bases with no outs.<\/p>\n
Castillo walked in a run to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Salvador Perez, the Royals\u2019 veteran catcher\/designated hitter, deftly slid around a tag from new Mariners catcher Jhonny Pereda on a three-hop throw home from Julio Rodr\u00edguez to make it 3-1.<\/p>\n
Castillo managed to complete six innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts on 101 pitches.<\/p>\n
It was, yes, a better showing from Castillo after a rough April in which he had an 8.06 ERA in five starts, sparking uncertainty about his place in the rotation with the impending return of Bryce Miller (oblique strain) at some point in the next two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m about nine years in the league \u2026 (and) same routine, same preparation from one start to another,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cSometimes there are obstacles that happen throughout the season and there\u2019s bad luck. But it\u2019s not going to last the entire season. So just continue working, preparing and good things will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mariners had taken a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Leo Rivas worked a leadoff walk, advanced on a first-to-third sprint following a Rodr\u00edguez single and then scored on a Josh Naylor fielder\u2019s choice grounder to first base.<\/p>\n
That would be it for the M\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just weren\u2019t able to barrel anything today,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
Pereda, called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday, made his Mariners debut at catcher Sunday. He caught all nine innings, threw out one of two runners attempting to steal second base, and went 0-for-3 at the plate.<\/p>\n
Raleigh said he tweaked his side during Friday night\u2019s game against the Royals, then woke up Saturday feeling particularly sore. The Mariners haven\u2019t ruled out a potential IL stint for their All-Star catcher, but the club is optimistic he\u2019ll need only days, not weeks, to recover.<\/p>\n
Mariners right-hander Nick Davila, called up from Double-A Arkansas on Saturday, made his major-league debut in the ninth inning. He worked around a leadoff walk to escape with a scoreless inning when the Royals\u2019 Kyle Isbel was thrown out on an 8-4-2 relay to the plate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n