SEATTLE -- George Kirby and Luis Castillo have each shown some of the most mettle when pitching in some of the Mariners’ highest-stakes games of recent memory, which was among the leading criteria when the club tabbed them to start each of the first two games of the American League Division Series against the Tigers.
Kirby will take the mound in Game 1 on Saturday at T-Mobile Park, opposite Troy Melton, and Castillo will follow in Game 2 on Sunday in a high-stakes showdown vs. AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal.
“Super honored,” Kirby said. “It's a big game and something you always dream of, being able to start Game 1 or any game in the playoffs, for that matter.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson was not yet ready to reveal who will start Game 3 when the series shifts to Comerica Park on Tuesday, though barring the unforeseen, Logan Gilbert will be tabbed for that assignment.
Yet, there was some unforeseen in Gilbert not starting one of these first two games -- given that he was the Mariners’ Opening Day starter and the most consistent of their healthy arms.
More broadly, much of Seattle’s calculus has hinged on Bryan Woo, who’s been recovering from inflammation in his pectoral muscle and whose status to be included on its 26-man ALDS roster is still unclear. The 2025 All-Star threw a higher-intensity bullpen and simulated game on Thursday, but both he and the club wanted to see how he came out of it the following day before determining if he’d be able to be included on the roster, which is due by Saturday morning.
Even before Friday, Woo -- who’s been sidelined since exiting a Sept. 19 start in Houston -- was not expected to be available until later in the series.
“Those are things that we're still waiting on,” Wilson said, “and we'll put it all together once we get all the information together this afternoon.”
After pronounced struggles in August, Kirby and Castillo each finished on a high note, with a combined 1.47 ERA over their final three starts apiece. Those two have been much better at T-Mobile Park, too, with a combined 2.91 ERA at home compared to a 4.90 ERA on the road. Gilbert was also much better at home (2.24 ERA) but was slightly better on the road (4.74 ERA) than Kirby (5.16) and was comparable to Castillo (4.71).
“You look at some of those factors as well -- how they perform at home, on the road, what they've done against certain teams, whatnot,” Wilson said. “And again, some of those factors play hard. Some of them don't. And we've tried to take it all in.”
There’s also the playoff pedigree that Kirby and Castillo carry, albeit through different paths -- and more so, demeanors.
Kirby started the most recent postseason game in Seattle -- the 18-inning marathon against the Astros in 2022, in which he dominated over six scoreless innings, and he also closed out Seattle’s Wild Card Series win that year out of the bullpen in Toronto. Castillo was also instrumental in the Mariners’ most recent playoff run, and despite a slight dip in velocity in his age-32 season, he has still been wired for big moments dating back to his time with the Reds.
Those two, in the postseason, have a combined 1.30 ERA over 27 2/3 innings across five playoff appearances.
“Playoff time, you kind of get rid of your ego, and everyone playing for one goal is just to win the game,” Kirby said. “So however we can do that to give our team the best chance to win, that's the kind of mentality.”
Kirby, who missed the first two months of the regular season with right shoulder inflammation, made one start against the Tigers in 2025, striking out six while surrendering four runs on five hits and three walks in a 15-7 win as part of a three-game sweep at Comerica Park from July 11-13. Castillo made two starts against them -- the most notable being a dominant outing on April 2 in Seattle, when he was plagued by a lack of run support in a 3-2 loss.
When Kirby was shut down in March, as frustrated as he was to be on the injured list for the first time in his career, he did point to the potential workload benefits it could bring come October. The 2023 All-Star made 23 starts this season, with a 4.21 ERA, but only pitched in 126 innings -- well below each of the past two years, when he eclipsed 190 apiece.
If there’s extra gas in the tank, he’s got it at the perfect time.