On Monday, the Seattle Mariners continued their piggyback pitching approach with Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo. The Mariners first tried this plan last week against the Chicago White Sox, where the team lost 2-1 after a painful blow save in the top of the ninth inning.
Mariners fans and analysts felt confused about the managing of the situation. The negative reactions to the piggyback failed to sway the Mariners into moving towards another direction. There seems to be no other option in their mind right now. With the emergence of Emerson Hancock, the piggyback move felt inevitable.
However, they switched Castillo and Miller’s roles. Instead of Miller starting this one, he came out of the bullpen. Despite the Mariners winning 9-2 against the Athletics, Castillo and Miller both voiced frustrations about the piggyback in Seattle.
Seattle Mariners Piggyback Pitching Frustrates Luis Castillo
GettyCastillo looked visibly frustrated after leaving Monday’s game against the Athletics.
After the game, Castillo spoke with the media through an interpreter. He outlined his conversation with Mariners manager Dan Wilson once leaving the game. Clearly, the Seattle Mariners piggyback experiment is still a work in progress.
Castillo said, “I was kind of asking, ‘Maybe one more inning? 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 conversation between Castillo and Wilson took almost the entire half-inning after Miller started pitching in relief. The piggyback pitching situation is foreign to Castillo as a major league veteran.
He said, “It’s a plan that for at least my seasons here in the Major Leagues, I’ve never seen this piggyback. 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.”
Despite Castillo’s emotions, Wilson continues to support his pitcher through this difficult stage of his career.
Wilson said to the media, “This is not an easy science, the piggyback thing. 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.”
Bryce Miller Equally Feels Confused About Piggyback
GettyMiller has pitched incredibly well after returning from the injured list a few weeks ago.
In Monday’s game, it also marked the first time Miller came out of the bullpen in his major league career. Miller played unbelievably in the first piggyback game in Seattle where he pitched 5.2 innings of one hit ball. Miller also addressed the media after the game.
He said, “I found out yesterday or two days ago, so I just didn’t really know how I was going to navigate it. 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.”
As the Mariners continue this piggyback experiment, its worth keeping in mind the emotions of the players involved. While clearly not an ideal situation, both Castillo and Miller have pitched effectively for the most part in these roles.
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