SEATTLE (AP) — Luis Castillo threw seven shutout innings, Mitch Garver hit a three-run double and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 on Sunday for a sweep of their weekend series.
Castillo was brilliant in his first win since May 12. The right-hander struck out six and walked three — all on 3-2 pitches.
“The value of that guy in a starting rotation — all our guys are really good, super talented, but he’s the rock. He’s the anchor,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
Castillo (5-6) surrendered two hits on Taylor Ward’s double in the first and Kyren Paris’ broken-bat single in the third. It was his third occasion this season when he threw at least seven shutout innings while allowing three hits or less.
Castillo wasn’t sharp early. But slowed his delivery following a suggestion from pitching coach Pete Woodworth and retired nine of his final 10 batters.
“He told me I was going a little fast and to kind of find a pace and maintain a rhythm. That’s what I did and those last three innings I was just trying to maintain that same rhythm,” Castillo said through an interpreter.
The Mariners had shut out the Angels for 19 straight innings before shortstop J.P. Crawford’s first error of the season led to a run in the ninth on Zach Neto’s two-out single. Before that, the Angels’ only runs in the three games had come on Jo Adell’s grand slam in the seventh on Friday.
Seattle closed out a stretch of 17 straight days without a day off — its longest such stretch of the season — with a 10-7 record during the span. The Mariners also improved to 21-11 at home, tied for the second-best home mark through 32 games in franchise history. Only the 2001 team that won 116 games had a better start at home at 25-7.
“It’s a marathon. It is not a sprint. You look at that and every day when I come to the ballpark I feel we’re going to win,” said Servais, who noted Seattle has 13 straight following Monday’s day off. “Our starting pitching is going to give us a chance, they’re going to keep us in the game.”
Angels starter Griffin Canning had his best performance of the season and nearly matched Castillo. Canning (2-5) struck out four and walked one while pitching into the seventh inning for the first time this season.
Canning’s lone mistake was a 1-2 sinker to Luke Raley in the fourth inning that stayed in the middle of the plate. Raley connected for a solo drive that barely cleared the wall in right field for his sixth homer of the season.
“He’s continuing to show progress from his start. He stood out there and was in command. Just in the seventh inning he looked like he lost his energy,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Canning.
Raley added a second RBI after he was hit by Luis García’s pitch with two outs in the eighth, and Garver cleared the bases with a shot into the left-field corner.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Following its first off day since May 16, Seattle will open a series on Tuesday in Oakland. RHP George Kirby (4-5, 4.08 ERA) starts the opener for the Mariners.
