Luis Castillo stars as Mariners beat Royals 3-2 to grab sole possession of AL West lead

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Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo walks off the field after pitching through the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

SEATTLE ā€“ Luis Castillo pitched seven shutout innings and the Seattle Mariners grabbed sole possession of first place in the AL West, beating the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

Teoscar HernƔndez and Julio Rodrƭguez homered as Seattle won for the 11th time in 12 games. The Mariners also improved to a major league-best 36-14 since July 1 for their best 50-game stretch since they also went 36-14 from April 23-June 18, 2003.

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Seattle (74-56) and Texas were tied for the AL West lead coming into the day, but the Rangers lost 7-6 to the Twins. Seattle trailed Texas by 7 1/2 games on Aug. 15.

Itā€™s the latest the Mariners have had sole possession of first in a season since Aug. 24, 2003.

ā€œWe have a lot of baseball to go,ā€ Seattle manager Scott Servais said. ā€œThereā€™s no question about it. But we have played extremely well, really since the first of July. And itā€™s a testament to our players. They just keep their head down and focus on getting better.ā€

Castillo (11-7) allowed one hit, struck out six and walked one in his fourth consecutive win. The All-Star right-hander retired his last 13 batters.

ā€œItā€™s been awesome to watch him go out and do it every fifth day,ā€ Servais said. ā€œAnd today he was as sharp as heā€™s been in quite some time. When your starting pitching is that consistent, youā€™re gonna be in a lot of games.ā€

HernƔndez put Seattle in front with his third homer in the past two games, hitting a 433-foot solo shot to center off rookie Alec Marsh (0-7) in the second inning. It was his 22nd homer of the season.

RodrĆ­guez also went deep for the second straight day, lining a two-run shot to left-center in the fifth to make it 3-0. It was his 23rd of the season.

Kansas Cityā€™s Nelson VelĆ”zquez cut it to 3-2 with a two-run homer off Gabe Speier in the eighth. It was VelĆ”zquezā€™s eighth homer.

The Royals put runners on second and third with two outs in the inning, but Justin Topa struck out Salvador Perez to preserve the one-run lead. AndrƩs MuƱoz struck out the side in the ninth for his 10th save.

ā€œYou can feel the positivity and the good vibes here,ā€ Castillo said. ā€œItā€™s a team that just wants to go out there and win.ā€

Marsh allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out nine in his seventh career start.

Kansas City lost for the 10th time in 12 games. Nine of its past 10 losses are by two runs or fewer.

ā€œSuper frustrating series,ā€ Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. ā€œReally a frustrating road trip. Played better than what the results ended up.ā€

LAYING OUT

Seattle right fielder Dominic Canzone made a full-extension diving catch on a slicing line drive by Maikel Garcia in the sixth.

PITCH MAGNET

Seattleā€™s Ty France was hit by a pitch for a franchise-record 28th time this season when Marsh plunked him with a slider in the second. France also held the previous mark, with 27 hit by pitches in 2021.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Zack Greinke (1-12, 5.34 ERA) faces Pittsburgh RHP Johan Oviedo (7-13, 4.46 ERA) on Monday to open a three-game series at home.

Mariners: Rookie RHP Bryan Woo (1-3, 4.58 ERA) starts against Oakland on Monday to begin a three-game set at home. The Aā€™s have not announced a starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb


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