No Julio Rodriguez? No Problem. Here are 3 standouts from the Mariners series opening win over the White Sox

The Mariners kicked off their series against the White Sox, and it was a bit suprising to see Julio Rodriguez not in the lineup. With JP Crawford back, it made a bit of sense to let Julio have an off night to rest. Without the team's hottest hitter in the lineup, you would think that the Mariners might struggle to score, right?

Wrong.

Instead, they put up their most runs of the year, topping their 13-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles back on June 23rd. It was their 10th time this season scoring double-digits, and amazingly enough, it was the third occurrence in their last 7 games! The others happened in a 10-8 win over the Royals on August 15th, and a 10-3 win over the Astros on August 18th.

Here are the 3 stars of the Mariners 14-2 win, done without Julio Rodriguez

Star #1: Luis Castillo

The Mariners jumped out early to a 5-0 lead. We will get there in a minute. Fans instantly got worried when Castillo came out of the gates slow.
6-pitch double
4-pitch strikeout
8-pitch groundout
2-pitch RBI double
5-pitch line out

Thats 25 pitches to get through the first. After having to use up the bullpen after Hancock managed just two innings, it wasn't looking great for Castillo. Again, we were wrong, as he breezed through the White Sox after settling in. Check out how many pitches he threw per inning over the rest of his outing.
2nd inning: 9 pitches
3rd inning: 13 pitches
4th inning: 6 pitches
5th inning: 16 pitches
6th inning: 12 pitches
7th inning: 14 pitches

Yup, he ended up going 7 innings, allowing just the one run on five hits, no walks, and 9 Ks, all while retiring 15 straight at one point. He threw 70 pitches over those final 6 innings, finishing with a tidy 95, 71 of which were strikes. Hard to get a bead on him when he is pounding the strike zone.

Star #2: Cal Raleigh

BIG DUMPER! Dude was on it during the game, and got the scoring started with a two-run double in the first inning. He blasted the ball at 108.2 mph, and it would've been a homer in three parks. He lead off the 5th inning with an absolute missile, the hardest hit ball all night at 111.9 mph that wouldve been a homer everywhere besides Coors Field (supposedly).

He wasn't done, as he would hit a three-run bomb in the 8th, a no-doubter that left the bat at 104.1 but with a great launch angle, good enough to be a homer in every single park. He would finish 3-5 with 6 RBI on the night, besting his previous career high of 4 RBI. That's a mark he had done 5 times, most recently on May 15th in a 10-1 against the Red Sox.

Star #3: Josh Rojas

We could go someone else here, but I am going with Josh Rojas. He went 3-5 as well, and seems to be getting comfortable in Seattle. It's really nice having someone down at the bottom of the lineup that can get on base and scoot around the bases a bit for the top of the order. Having he and Caballero is really fun, and could make for a fun tandem at 2B.

It was a great night for those players, and going 7-16 with RISP while striking out just 8 times on the night really helps. They have two left in Chicago before heading home, and it would be wonderful to see Dumper or Rojas have another great game before they leave the Windy City. Go Mariners!