‘The Rock’ for Mariners in Game 2 vs. Tarik Skubal hosting his Seattle U. team
Luis Castillo is the Mariners most playoff-tested pitcher.
“La Piedra” — “The Rock” — has three career postseason starts. That doesn’t sound like a ton, until you remember his Mariners are in just their second postseason in the last 24 years.
Castillo, at 32 Seattle’s oldest starting pitcher, has three career playoff starts entering his turn Sunday in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park. That’s two more starts than anyone else on the Mariners’ starting staff.
Castillo had one postseason start with Cincinnati in 2020. He made two the last time the Mariners were in the playoffs, in 2022. His 7 1/3-inning shutout at Toronto in Game 1 of a wild-card series was a Mariners record for most innings in a scoreless postseason start.
He lost Game 2 of the AL Division Series three years ago at Houston. He allowed three runs, two home runs, in seven innings in one of the three narrow losses the Mariners had while getting swept out of the 2022 playoffs in three games by the Astros.
So, relative sage one on Seattle’s staff, what’s different about pitching in the playoffs?
“I think the adrenaline is different,” he said Saturday, through an interpreter. “These kinds of games, you know, they come with a lot of intensity.
“So I think, or I hope, that (Saturday’s) and (Sunday’s) game the fans bring it and bring that intensity.”
You knows how starved Mariners fans are for Seattle, which just won its first AL West title in 24 years, to be the last Major League Baseball franchise to make a World Series. He knows they entered Saturday not having seen a home playoff win since 2001.
He knows how loud their packed stadium in SoDo is going to be for his Game 2 start Sunday.
“I mean, the fans, you can really tell how much they love us. They bring us that energy,” Castillo said. “They deserve what we were able to bring, this good team that we have this year, build up on it.”
Castillo’s experience and know-how in the postseason is why some thought manager Dan Wilson would choose Castillo to start against Detroit in Game 1 Saturday.
George Kirby did.
And the 27-year-old right-hander was gratified by it.
“Super honored, you know,” Kirby said before his start Saturday. “It’s a big game and something you always dream of, being able to start Game 1 or any game in the playoffs, for that matter.”
Tarik Skubal hosting his old college team
Castillo’s facing a stud Sunday.
Skubal is Detroit’s ace. He dominated Cleveland with 14 strikeouts to win Game 1 of the wild-card round this week.
He is also Seattle University’s all-time leader in wins, opponent batting average, and earned run average.
Seattle U. gave Skubal his only scholarship as a high school senior in Kingman, Arizona, in 2014. The Tigers selected him in the ninth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball. The two-time All-Star and 2024 Cy Young Award winner may win it again this year. He set career-highs in strikeouts (241, in 195 1/3 innings) and ERA (2.21), while going 13-6 this regular season.
Every time he comes to Seattle to pitch for the Tigers against the Mariners, he drops by Seattle U. to see his college team.
Sunday, he’s going to host them at T-Mobile Park for his fifth career playoff start.
“I’m going to have the whole team out (Sunday), which I think will be a cool experience for them,” Skubal said. “I think they have a scrimmage in the morning. I’ve been talking to the coach: ‘Get done with the scrimmage and come on over.’
“I think that’s 34 guys on the roster. But I think it will be worth it for these guys to just come experience playoff baseball. And I understand that I was in their shoes however many years ago that was. Seven.”
Skubal was asked why he feels the need to meet with his successors on the Seattle U. Redhawks baseball team each time he’s back in town. “I just remember when I was going to school there, the pro guys would come back and throw and work out with us, and I thought that was really cool,” he said “I thought: ‘This is awesome to have guys who are in professional baseball and grinding through the minor leagues. I idolized those guys. I wanted to watch those guys and pick their brain and see why they have success and why they’re good and how they got to be in that situation.
“So I think it’s important to just understand that it’s not a dream, you know? You can dream about playing in the big leagues and getting drafted and all this stuff, but those things can become a reality for all those guys. And I think it’s important to get back in front of them and talk to them and share some knowledge.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 5:34 PM with the headline "‘The Rock’ for Mariners in Game 2 vs. Tarik Skubal hosting his Seattle U. team."
