A pair of American League teams currently in playoff position that were active at the trade deadline close out an early week set on the diamond in the Bronx. The Seattle Mariners are on the road as they play the finale of a three-game series with the New York Yankees Wednesday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Monday night, it was the Yankees rolling to a 7-2 victory to draw first blood in the set. Which experienced veteran pitcher gets the upper hand for his team when this series draws to a close? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the middle game of the set at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night.
Seattle lost for the fourth time in five games as they were down early and never recovered in the opener of their set with the Yankees Monday night. The Mariners entered Tuesday second in the AL West, 12 games behind the Astros for the top spot in the division. They did hold one of the three wild card spots in the American League though they are just one game ahead of Cleveland. On Monday, Seattle finished with seven hits as Jesse Winker was the lone player with two in the game. Kyle Lewis hit his third homer of the season in a losing effort for the Mariners. Marco Gonzales (6-11) took the loss as he surrendered six runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work before departing.
Luis Castillo is on the slab for the Mariners as he makes his 15th start of the season and what marks his Seattle debut after being acquired last week from the Reds. He comes in 4 -4 with a 2.86 ERA, a 1.071 WHIP, 28 walks and 90 strikeouts over 85 innings of work. Castillo earned the win in his last start, which came at home with the Reds against the Marlins last Wednesday. He threw seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in a game the Reds went on to win 5-3. In his last three starts, Castillo has a 1-0 record with a 2.14 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, six walks and 24 strikeouts over 21 innings of work. Castillo makes his third career start against the Yankees in this contest. He comes in 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, six walks and 10 strikeouts over 12 innings of action. Castillo made both his starts in his career against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, giving him some familiarity with the park.