MLB's Latino of the Night: Luis Castillo pitches seven scoreless innings in Mariners' victory over Braves

SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners pitching department continued its hot start of the season with another great outing against one of the best offenses in the Majors. Starting pitcher Luis Castillo was one of the main reasons why the Mariners completed a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, taking them to the top of the AL West division thanks to a record of 17-13.

The Dominican threw seven innings without a run, a performance tied with his seven scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies ten days ago for his best game of the season so far.

After a shaky start to the season that saw him lose his first four starts, Castillo has bounced back in the last two weeks, winning all three of his outings and allowing just two runs in 20 innings pitched.

The Dominican allowed 12 runs in his first three games of 2024, but has had four straight quality starts ever since. In that span, "La Piedra" has allowed just four runs in 26 innings for an ERA of 1.38.

"I remember [Servais] telling me out in Toronto that I'm a killer," Castillo said through an interpreter. "And since then, I've just gone out with that mentality, and I think it's helped me."

The Mariners have gone 11-4 in their last 15 games and extended the franchise's record of allowing two runs of fewer in 18 straight games in their win against Atlanta. Their pitching department holds most of the responsibility for the turnaround, ranking among the MLB's top three in all key stats.

Since the start of the season, only the Boston Red Sox (2.62) have a lower ERA than the Mariners (3.03). Seattle has also allowed the fewest hits in the Majors so far this season (97- tied with Kansas City).

In fact, after Castillo's quality start against the Braves, the Mariners became the first team in MLB history to have an ERA of 1.60 or better and 160 or more strikeouts in an 18-game span.