The Seattle Mariners won a nail-biting 1-0 game on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
As the playoff race thickens, the M's are now 79-61. They trail in the American League West by 0.5 games and currently hold the second wild card spot.
The Rays are 85-56 and hold the first wild card spot, but trail in the American League East by 4.0 games.
Mike Ford had the lone RBI for the M's in the win, singling home a run in the second inning. On the mound, starting pitcher Luis Castillo skirted in and out of trouble, but he ultimately pitched six scoreless innings.
Castillo allowed four hits and four walks but had eight strikeouts. He moved to 12-7 this season with a 3.08 ERA. After the eight-strikeout performance, he now owns an impressive piece of team history.
Per @StatsCentre:
Ringing up 8 in 6 shutout innings on Thursday, Luis Castillo in his 40th career start since joining the @Mariners last season helped his team earn a 1-0 win over the Rays. His strikeout total with SEA sits well ahead of the next best on this list of pitchers in franchise history
Castillo was brought to the Mariners in 2022 in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline. He helped Seattle win its first playoff series since 2001 that year and is trying to help the M's get back to the playoffs this year.
Seattle will take on the Rays again on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET.
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