We were joined by Buster Olney of ESPN on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast Thursday to talk about the battle that lies ahead for the Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night.
Thursday: 1 p.m. PT: In reference to the article below, we spoke to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney about his thoughts on Castillo heading into Game 4. His comments were made on the Refuse to Lose podcast.
'And I think your analysis is dead on. I think if you're, Castillo, this version, the 2025 version of Castillo, you're not going to out-stuff the Blue Jays. So you're going to try to essentially out-pitch them and go to the edges and and try to get an aggressive team to hit your pitches. And I fully expect that's what he's going to do. It's going to be up to the Blue Jays to be disciplined against them. And, if they're not, Castillo is going to be able to do his thing. I'm sure that that's going to be a conversation the Blue Jays clubhouse. 'Look, don't tempt, don't chase him out of the strike zone.' Castillo is going to try to do that....'
You can listen to the full conversation in the player below:
Thursday, 11:45 a.m. PT The Seattle Mariners enter Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on their heels after suffering a 13-4 drubbing in Game 3. Though they still lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, there are reasons to be concerned about the Toronto Blue Jays getting hot offensively, and there are lessons to take from this loss.
Namely, this one, per Sportsnet Stats:
Blue Jays 18 hits through the first 3 pitches of an AB are the most by any MLB team in a playoff game since at least 2000
The Jays were extremely aggressive in Game 3, taking advantage of several center-cut pitches from M's starter George Kirby and multiple relievers.
The lesson for Luis Castillo in Game 4 is two-fold:
Utilize offspeed
He needs to make sure that he's able to pitch backwards and utilize his offspeed pitches effectively. Kirby was crushed by leaving early-count fastballs over the middle, so if Castillo's going to have success, he likely needs to land his slider and changeup, especially early in the count.
If Toronto is going to be that aggressive, Castillo needs to use their aggressiveness against them and allow them to get themselves out. They don't chase much, but he'll need to force soft contact.
Can't be afraid of contact
He still needs to throw strikes. Because he knows that the Jays are ambush hitters, the tendency might be to live on the edges and pitch away from contact. You can't do that, either, because if you fall behind, or walk batters, they will make you pay eventually.
Castillo needs to be aggressive in the strike zone, but he needs to be able to command each of his pitches in the process.
About Castillo
He went 11-8 this season with a 3.54 ERA, striking out 162 batters in 180.2 innings. He made 32 starts and helped the Mariners win Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Tigers. He also came in relief in Game 5 to earn the win, going 1.1 scoreless innings in the 15-inning affair.
He'll be opposed by future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who hasn't pitched since Sept. 24.
First pitch is set for 5:33 p.m. PT.
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