Luis Castillo's Debut was the 6th best game of the year for the Mariners

A Few Reflections

The Mariners have a complicated and mostly dark history (minus 1995) against the Yankees, so it was nice to see the good guys win one. It also showed that the Mariners could hang with New York, something that could be huge going into 2023.

Luis Castillo showed why he was worth the trade. Yes his command got away once in a while, and the random #8-9 hitter hitting a home run off him were trends we'd see through the rest of the season. At the end of the day, Castillo showed why he was the rock of this rotation. The stuff, my goodness, his stuff was and is electric.

It was great to go back and see really the beginning of Suarez biggest hot streak of the season. From August through early September, Suarez was playing like an all-star, hitting nearly .250 and crushing 15 home runs over a 46 game span before getting injured. While the pace is not necessarily realistic over a 162 game season, that'd put Suarez on pace for 53 home runs, and likely a MVP caliber season. Let's hope for that as a New Year's resolution.

Speaking of hope, Jarred Kelenic showed some of that, getting the back-breaking homerun off of Cole. It was a great at bat, and it showed the immense potential Kelenic has. It has not been a great two years for Kelenic in Seattle, and I do feel for the guy. I'm not even sure if he'll be on the team by spring training, but if he is, it will likely be his last chance to be the player he was supposed to be for the Mariners…a true partner to Julio Rodriguez.

Ending on a positive note, it was a special game for the Mariners and their fans. They saw the best of Eugenio Suarez and Jarred Kelenic, while getting a peak at the star that Luis Castillo has brought to this team, and will for the next 6 years. His next matchup with Cole came only a week later, in an absolute classic, but that's for tomorrow good friends.