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Mariners vs. Rockies: Dumper destruction Pt. 2, Castillo cooks, and Mariners put up a six spot

In one of the most dominant series of the season so far, the Mariners took care of business at high altitude.

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v Colorado Rockies - Game Two
Seattle Mariners v Colorado Rockies - Game Two / Matthew Stockman/GettyImages
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Fans have eagerly been awaiting an offensive breakout from the Mariners. After a strong home series against the Reds, Seattle continued to have strong momentum by beating the Rockies in definitive fashion. Oddly enough, it took freezing temperatures for the bats to finally warm up.

Mariners' Best Hitter: Cal Raleigh

.462/.467/.923, 6 H, 2 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K

A major part of the Mariner's offensive resurgence in the past two series against the Reds and the Rockies has been Cal Raleigh's return to form. Since the start of the Reds series, Raleigh has posted a 1.369 OPS over 27 plate appearances. Prior to April 15th, he had just a .571 OPS but with this hot streak, his overall 2024 slash line now sits at a respectable .258/.342/.485.

The biggest change has been to his power. While he had just two homers before April 15th, he's hit three homers since, two of which were in this series. He hit two home runs at Coors Field which is admittedly a hitter's ballpark but a long ball is a long ball.

While his strikeout rate of 28.8% may be a little higher than some might like, his exceptional walk rate and average exit velocities have helped lift his numbers immensely. Don't let a cold streak here and there make you forget that he's a core part of the Seattle lineup.

Honorable Mention: Julio Rodriguez

.571/.571/.571, 8 H, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Although he didn't quite have the same power to show off as Raleigh, Julio's eight hits over his 14 plate appearances were impressive. Similar to Cal, Julio has had a rocky start to the season but his performance in this series was a positive sign of things to come.

Of all the months in the season, he's always been the worst in March/April by far, averaging a .652 OPS which is right about where his 2024 stats are currently. His next worst month is June with a career-average .767 OPS, so it seems that the best of J-Rod is yet to come.

Mariners' Best Pitcher: Luis Castillo

7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Going along with the theme of players correcting rough starts and getting back on track, Castillo finally resembled his old self. He absolutely dealt in the first game of the series, getting 19 swings and misses powered by his four-seam fastball and slider. Despite subpar weather conditions, he had an outstanding seven innings of ace-tier pitching.

As stated in an article I wrote earlier this month, Castillo is at his best when his fastball is elevated. One of the main reasons he was able to pitch so well in a hitter's ballpark was his excellent placement, minimizing contact of any kind but especially hard contact from opposing batters.

He's still got a 4.40 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in 2024 over 28 ⅔ innings so more work is required before his numbers begin to reflect his skill more accurately, but a few more starts of this quality should get his statistics back within expectations.

Honorable Mention: George Kirby

5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Although he was a little more hittable in his start, Kirby still went scoreless and picked up nine swings and misses along with 16 called strikes. Because of his excellent command, Kirby is able to constantly paint the edges of the zone to avoid walks and get ahead in counts.

There were a few close calls, including a batted ball by Brendan Rodgers that would've been a home run in every ballpark other than Coors Field. Nonetheless, with no earned runs, Kirby was able to reduce his ERA slightly to 5.33. It's the worst opening month to a season since his debut in 2022 but like Castillo, he might also be on the road to redemption.

Best Moment: Mariners up six runs in the second inning of the final game of the series

Rockies starters have had a pretty rough go of it this year and Peter Lambert was not immune to the trend. After pitching a scoreless first inning, the Mariners put up six runs with everyone chipping in to help. Seby Zavala had his first hit and RBI as a Mariner, and J.P. Crawford had a bases-clearing triple. Interestingly, Crawford's triple went 426 feet and would've been a grand slam in every park other than Coors Field.

Cumulatively, Seattle has a long way to go before the offense is on par with the other playoff-bound teams. However, they have been one of the hottest teams in baseball recently. Since 4/15, they have the second-highest team OPS of .850, lagging behind just the Orioles with a .905 OPS. Over the course of 2024, their team OPS of .665 is 23rd in MLB but with players like Raleigh and Rodríguez slowly reaching full power, the other teams in the AL West have officially been put on notice.

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