Veteran pitcher Luis M. Castillo has long gone by the nickname of “La Piedra,” which translates to “The Rock.”
So when the Seattle Mariners signed fellow right-hander Luis F. Castillo to a minor-league deal this past winter, they needed something to differentiate the two besides their middle initial.
Hence the newcomer’s new nickname: “The Pebble.”
After getting five-plus scoreless frames from “The Rock” on Tuesday night in a 2-1 loss in 12 innings to visiting Houston, the Mariners will turn to “The Pebble” when the three-game series against the visiting Astros wraps up on Wednesday afternoon.
“The Rock” had never met “The Pebble” before spring training but said he often got tagged as him on Instagram from 2018-22 when the slightly younger Castillo was pitching in the Dominican Winter League.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations this spring, actually,” said the elder Castillo, 32, a three-time All-Star, “because I saw him pitch and his arm angle is very similar to mine, and the way the ball moves, it’s kind of identical to mine. So some of the things we’ve been talking about are just kind of the preparation and how to take care of yourself.”
“The Pebble,” 30, made three relief appearances for Detroit in 2022 before spending the past two seasons in Japan.
With George Kirby beginning the season on the injured list and Emerson Hancock getting rocked in his season debut, the Mariners called up “The Pebble” to start last Friday at San Francisco.
Castillo (0-0, 9.00 ERA) allowed three runs over three innings in a game the Mariners lost 10-9 in 11 innings.
“I think players are going to be confused when they go out there, because they’re going to think I’m the one pitching,” “The Rock” said. “But I think they’re going to see some good stuff out there from him.”
The younger Castillo has yet to face Houston in his career.
The Astros are scheduled to start right-hander Hunter Brown (1-0, 3.00 ERA), who is 1-3 with a 4.82 ERA in six previous starts against Seattle.
Both teams are looking for an offensive boost after they combined to go 4-for-34 with runners in scoring position Tuesday.
Victor Caratini’s one-out single in the top of the 12th inning snapped a tie.
“We are a good offensive team, but right now it’s challenging, and good teams go through stuff like that,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.
Both teams got difficult injury news Tuesday.
Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti was placed on the 15-day injured list after he broke his right thumb when hit by a line drive while playing catch in the outfield as Seattle was taking batting practice Monday.
“It’s a freak accident,” Espada said.
An MRI determined Mariners outfielder Victor Robles suffered a small fracture in his shoulder joint when he made a spectacular catch while crashing into the protective netting down the right field line Sunday in San Francisco. Robles is expected to miss 12 weeks.
“It’s a tough blow,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Victor is such a big part of this club … the spirit he brings every single day, it’s just awesome to have him around. … But we will figure it out.”
–Field Level Media
