The Seattle Mariners will return to action Friday after four days off with the AL West-leading Houston Astros coming to town for a big series, and they’ve set their initial plan of attack.
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Shannon Drayer, Mariners insider for Seattle Sports, reported Thursday who the M’s will start on the mound for the first two games coming out of the All-Star break. Here’s how it looks:
• Friday – 7:10 p.m. first pitch: Luis Castillo (Seattle) vs. Brandon Walter (Houston)
• Saturday – 6:40 p.m. first pitch: Logan Evans (Seattle) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (Houston)
While the Mariners haven’t announced who will pitch Sunday, the Astros are set to start Framber Valdez.
Castillo, a 32-year-old right-hander, is 6-5 this season with a 3.41 ERA and 1.237 WHIP. The three-time former All-Star went into the All-Star break strong, allowing just four earned runs over 18 innings with 18 strikeouts to four walks in his last three starts of the first half. That included seven shutout innings of two-hit ball on July 5 in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Castillo has faced the Astros twice this season, holding them scoreless over five innings on April 8 in Seattle, and allowing three runs over six innings on May 25 in Houston.
Evans, a 24-year-old rookie, is 3-3 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.351 WHIP in nine starts this season. He made the majority of his starts in May, but was called back up to the Mariners from Triple-A Tacoma in early July and made two starts before the break. Saturday will be his first career outing against the Astros.
The other members of Seattle’s starting rotation are 2025 All-Star Bryan Woo, 2024 All-Star Logan Gilbert, and 2023 All-Star George Kirby.
The Mariners enter Friday with a 51-45 record, which has them in position for the third and final wild card in the American League, leading the Tampa Bay Rays by 1 1/2 games. Seattle is five games back of Houston (56-40) for first place in the AL West.
Radio coverage of Friday’s M’s-Astros game on Seattle Sports will begin at 6 p.m. with the pregame show, whereas Saturday’s pregame coverage will start at 5:30.
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