SEATTLE -- If it truly is the end for the Mariners’ piggyback, at least for now, it went out with a bang.
Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo paired up for the third time this season in the Mariners’ series finale against the D-backs, and both did their jobs yet again -- this time for 10 innings -- before Victor Robles’ walk-off infield single gave Seattle a 3-2 win on Sunday at T-Mobile Park.
Manager Dan Wilson has used the word “equitable” to describe what, at times, has been a tenuous setup in the rotation. He used it again on Sunday morning when asked about the decision to go back to Miller as the starter for Round 3.
How’s this for equitable? Miller and Castillo each threw five innings on Sunday. Both got through their five frames on exactly 71 pitches.
“Pretty ironic, in some ways,” Wilson said.
“That’s kinda cool,” was Miller’s take. “Even split.”
The different nature of the setup has led to some unusual sights, mostly for Castillo. On Sunday, there was yet another one when the 10-year veteran -- who became the eighth pitcher since 1900 to make his first career relief appearance after at least 250 starts in the first piggyback game -- took the hill for his fifth frame in the 10th inning and had to deal with the automatic runner for the first time.
“If you don’t have experience with it, it does make you a little nervous,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “But the important thing for me was going out there and just battling against every battle I faced. The pitching coach told me, ‘This is your game, go finish it.’”
Finish it, Castillo did -- despite a sacrifice bunt immediately moving the potential go-ahead run to third base and a walk putting runners on the corners. Arizona pinch-hit Adrian Del Castillo for the left-on-right matchup, but “La Piedra” struck him out to win a nine-pitch battle, then got Ketel Marte to ground out to end the threat.
“To go into the extra inning there, take the ball again and do what he had to do, he made some really good pitches in that inning,” Wilson said. “Just executed tremendously.”
Castillo was paired with Miller largely due to his struggles to start the season; when Miller came off the injured list on May 13, Castillo had a rotation-worst 6.57 ERA. In his three piggyback outings, though, he’s allowed three earned runs in 11 1/3 innings, with 13 strikeouts.
“It doesn’t matter what situation, what position you put me in,” Castillo said. “Once I cross that white line, I’ve got to go in there and do my job, get those outs.”
Miller, meanwhile, has been even better, and Sunday was just another example. The 27-year-old struck out six in his five frames, allowing just one hit. He finished his day with a season-high 17 whiffs, including a 37% whiff rate on his four-seamer.
Four outings and 21 innings into the year, Miller’s ERA is down to 1.71, with a 0.86 WHIP and 20 strikeouts to just three walks.
It’s exactly what the Mariners wanted to see out of him after his momentum from a breakout season in 2024 ground to a halt last year while he dealt with multiple stints on the IL and never really got to show his true upside until the fall.
“I feel great,” he said. “The stuff has been really good this year, quite a bit better than it’s been at any other part of my career so far. Every outing just adds to the confidence leading into the next one.”
On paper, Seattle’s piggyback system worked just about exactly how it was designed. Across the three games, Miller and Castillo combined to get all but three outs, saving the bullpen. Both excelled within their roles, pitching to a combined 1.63 ERA. And both stayed stretched out to starting length.
That last point is important, because now the system is set to go away. The Mariners are moving on from the piggyback situation for this next pass through the rotation, switching things up to a six-man rotation with 13 games in the next 14 days. That’s not a development either Castillo or Miller are likely to be upset about, after the frustrations that swirled around its previous iterations.
On Sunday -- perhaps because of the setup’s impending conclusion -- there was none of that. On Sunday, it all ended with smiles, and a mob on the field.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to them,” Wilson said. “Their willingness to put the team first in these situations, not an easy situation to come into. Both of these guys deserve a huge pat on the back for the way they’ve approached it and been selfless in a lot of ways.”