piggyback pitching – Even after a 9-2 win over the Athletics, Luis Castillo’s frustration became a visible reminder that Seattle’s “piggyback” rotation isn’t simple. The Mariners’ plan relies on switching pitchers midstream, and Castillo was pulled after 68 pitches so Bryce Miller
WEST SACRAMENTO — The Mariners had plenty going right on Monday night, a welcome change in a season that has swung from frustratingly inconsistent to borderline maddening.
After a 9-2 win over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, though, not everyone in the visiting dugout was satisfied with how it happened.
Luis Castillo’s frustration showed up fast. Moments after a lengthy exchange with manager Dan Wilson in the top of the fifth. Castillo was seen slamming his glove into the dugout bench. The conversation carried no audio. but the body language—facial expressions and hand signals—made it clear something had been decided.
At the time, Castillo was in the middle of what he called his best start since March within a mostly disappointing season. Wilson was telling him he was being pulled for Bryce Miller, the other arm in Seattle’s piggyback tandem.
“I was kind of asking, ‘Maybe one more inning?’” Castillo said through an interpreter. “He told me that Bryce was ready. But as a competitor, you kind of want to go out there and just continue. But at the same time, you’ve got to respect his position. We knew that was part of the plan, and you’ve got to respect what his decision was.”.
The exchange stretched for nearly the entire half-inning. With the clubhouses in West Sacramento beyond the left-field fence, Castillo remained in the dugout until the top of the sixth and was seen pacing.
Wilson framed it as the price of trying to make the piggyback idea work in real time.
“This is not an easy science, the piggyback thing,” Wilson said. “And I think, always, you’re kind of weighing a lot of different things. And a tough decision in terms of ‘The Rock,’ and I think he just continues to prove to be an incredibly selfless player.”
Castillo finished the night at 68 pitches. He surrendered just two hits and struck out six of the 17 batters he faced. Miller then pushed Seattle to the finish line with five innings, allowing two runs that Wilson and the Mariners later treated as inconsequential while throwing 83 pitches.
For Miller, the outing carried a different kind of pressure. Monday was his first career relief appearance.
“I found out yesterday or two days ago. so I just didn’t really know how I was going to navigate it. ” Miller said. “Obviously, I think I’ve got [76] starts over the last four years, plus a couple years in the Minor Leagues. Like, I haven’t done this in a while — really, since college — pitching out of the bullpen. So I didn’t really know how to navigate it. But I just did the best I could.”.
The two pitchers had already been through the piggyback shuffle once before. On the first go-round last Tuesday, Miller started and Castillo followed.
That earlier sequence came with its own sharp emotions. Miller learned he would be relieved after 72 pitches and 5 2/3 innings and he was taking a no-hitter into the sixth. Castillo followed with two scoreless frames. but Seattle’s night turned cruel late: he was sent back out for the ninth despite a 1-0 lead and closer Andrés Muñoz being available.
Castillo allowed the first two runners to reach. Muñoz then gave up consecutive singles to allow them to score, and Seattle absorbed arguably its most agonizing loss of the year.
So the question hanging over Monday’s plan wasn’t whether the Mariners could win with the tactic—Seattle did that, 9-2. It was how steady the process could feel for the people executing it.
It’s possible they flip-flop again the next turn through, which would be Sunday against the D-backs. For now, the Mariners are committed to only using these two pitchers for the piggyback. That choice connects to recent health and form: in part. because Miller had just returned from spending almost two months on the IL. and because Castillo had been their most inconsistent starter while Miller was sidelined.
Castillo described it as something he expects to have to live inside for a while.
“It’s a plan that for at least my seasons here in the Major Leagues, I’ve never seen this piggyback,” Castillo said. “But it’s something that you’ll eventually get used to. All I’ve got to do is continue working and just doing the plan that they set up for us.”
If the Mariners couldn’t have designed the human side of Monday’s outcome in advance. their practical side was close to ideal. Their offense scored a six-spot in the third—their most in a single inning this year—and finished with four homers. The early cushion gave the staff room to map out pitch counts and keep both Castillo and Miller stretched out.
Still, even with a lead that big, the broader dynamic hasn’t been staying in the background for the past two weeks.
“That’s the plan,” Castillo said. “In times when he’s got to start, I’ve got to come through the bullpen. That’s the plan. I’ve got to get used to it and come out and just do my job.”
Luis Castillo Bryce Miller Dan Wilson Andrés Muñoz piggyback pitching plan Mariners Athletics Sutter Health Park West Sacramento D-backs IL rotation