After a crushing 10-inning loss on Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners will wrap up a four-game series with the Houston Astros on Thursday morning at 11:10 a.m. PT.

The Mariners are 3-3 on this current road trip and need a win to secure a winning road trip, a series win against Houston, and to pull themselves back to within one game of .500.

The M's are currently 21-23 and two games back in the American League West. If the Mariners are going to achieve the series win in Houston, they are going to need a big time performance from struggling ace Luis Castillo.

The pressure is real on the 33-year-old Castillo. A two-time All-Star and 'The Rock' of the pitching staff since arriving in 2022, he's been hammered this season, pitching to a 6.57 ERA in eight starts.

The Mariners reintroduced Bryce Miller into the starting rotation on Wednesday and have already said they are going to piggyback him and Castillo the next time through. That idea seems like a way to try to maximize Castillo's potential and give him additional chances before sending him to the bullpen, the injured list, or moving on from him completely.

What to do with Castillo is a sensitive topic for sure given Castillo's resume, standing in the clubhouse and personal accolades.

But while Castillo will be pitching with the pressure of his future on his shoulders, he's also got a great opportunity in front of him, because the Mariners need him to step up.

While Jose A. Ferrer is expected to be back from paternity leave on Thursday and Eduard Bazardo and Andres Munoz should both be available, the bullpen is generally thin.

Bazardo and Munoz have each worked in two of the last three days, and Bazardo has worked in three of the last four, so it would be understandable if the M's wanted to avoid him. Alex Hoppe has worked in back-to-back games and is probably unavailable. The M's need some depth out of Castillo and he should have the runway to provide it - as long as he's pitching reasonably well. If he wants to showcase why he belongs in the rotation full-time, this is his chance.

It's obvious and goes without saying that Castillo needs to throw strikes, get ahead in the count and limit walks. He may very well give up hits, but he can't make matters worse by getting into a high pitch count and putting runners on via free passes.

He needs to command all his pitches and needs to hit his fastball at the top of the zone as well. It's basic pitching, but it's eluded him for much of the season.

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