Mariners have a new injury concern with just weeks to go

Sep 8, 2024, 3:33 PM | Updated: 4:12 pm

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners’ rotation is the biggest reason their playoff hopes remain alive in September, and the fact that those starting pitchers have mostly stayed healthy all season has been key to that.

It’s now being put to the test, however.

Mariners rout Cardinals 10-4 to clinch series win

Right-hander Luis Castillo left Sunday’s win in St. Louis with a left hamstring strain, putting into question his availability going forward with just three weeks left in the regular season.

The 31-year-old Castillo was removed from the game after facing one batter in the fourth inning, preventing him from being eligible to get the win. According to Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports, who was in St. Louis covering the series, Castillo will undergo tests during the Mariners’ day off Monday to determine the status of his hamstring.

Castillo will have tests tomorrow to determine what he is dealing with in the hamstring. Said he first felt it on the stolen base earlier in the inning and his last pitch told him he should call the trainer.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) September 8, 2024

Castillo first felt discomfort on a play where the Cardinals’ Iván Herrera stole second base, he said through an interpreter, and wondered if the injury occurred as he ducked to avoid a throw to second. He threw two more pitches, getting up to 59 on the day, before he was visited on the mound by a trainer.

“That last pitch is when it felt worst, so that’s when I decided to just stop so it wouldn’t get any worse,” Castillo said, according to The Associated Press.

Castillo’s next turn in the rotation would be Saturday, Sept. 14 against the Texas Rangers. Seattle has turned to rookie right-hander Emerson Hancock and veteran lefty Johnathan Díaz when a sixth option to start has been needed this year.

Seattle’s opening day starter each of the past two seasons, Castillo is 11-12 with a 3.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 175 strikeouts and 47 walks over 175 1/3 innings. He’s essentially been the Mariners’ fifth-best starting pitcher, which is not an indictment of his performance but more an example of just how good Seattle’s rotation has been in 2024.

The only M’s starter to deal with injury issues so far this year is Bryan Woo, who started the season on the injured list with elbow trouble, had one start skipped due to concerns related to that elbow, and later had a short stint on the injured list with a hamstring strain of his own. Woo – and the rest of Seattle’s rotation – has made every scheduled start since the All-Star break.

After Sunday’s win over the Cardinals, the Mariners (73-71) are 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota (76-67) for the American League’s last wild card, and five games back of Houston (77-65) for the AL West lead. The Astros still play Sunday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the result of which will either shrink or increase Seattle’s deficit in the division.

The Mariners return home to T-Mobile Park at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday when they begin a two-game series against the San Diego Padres (81-63). Radio coverage on Seattle Sports begins at 5:30 p.m. with the pregame show.