ST. PETERSBURG — The juxtaposition in execution, production, competitiveness, performance and resilience over the first two games at Tropicana Field has been so stark, so glaring, that if 100 non-baseball fans were asked which team had a better record and was in a better standing for the postseason, none would choose the Mariners.
The Mariners checked all the boxes in the recipe of failure — another dismal showing at the plate, a subpar outing from the starting pitcher and a bullpen implosion late — in an 11-3 pasting by the Rays.
Seattle has now lost every series on this road trip from hell. And they could be swept for the first time this season in the series finale vs. Tampa.
The Mariners’ 10-game lead in the AL West will be down to 4.5 games.
Knowing the bullpen was taxed from usage this series and with several relievers unavailable to pitch, Luis Castillo tried to get the Mariners through six innings but couldn’t do it.
With the score tied at 2-2, he started the sixth having thrown 87 pitches and struggling to find any efficiency. Castillo got Isaac Paredes to pop out to third for the first out. But his command started to dissipate. He walked Richie Palacios despite being up 1-2 in the count. His next three pitches were nowhere near the strike zone. He threw more competitive pitches to the free-swinging Jose Siri, but a 3-2 fastball leaked in off the plate for another walk.
With Castillo at 103 pitches, manager Scott Servais had to go to the bullpen for a semi-fresh arm in the difficult situation.
Mike Baumann was called on to work out of the situation. The failure came on his first pitch — a 96-mph fastball. Left-handed hitting Taylor Walls yanked it into the right-field corner, just out of the reach of Dominic Canzone. It scored both runners with ease while Walls raced to third for a triple.
Both runs were charged to Castillo. His final line: 5 1/3 innings pitched, four runs allowed on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
In nine road starts this season, Castillo has a 2-6 record with a 4.58 ERA. In 51 innings pitched, he’s struck out 46 batters with 21 walks.
The inning continued to devolve quickly when the next batter, Ben Rortvedt, somehow got on top of a 95-mph fastball well above the strike zone. A pitch that was supposed to generate a swing and miss on a 1-2 count was deposited into the seats in right-center for a two-run homer and a 6-2 lead.
The Mariners cut into the lead when Mitch Garver hit a solo homer to left field in the seventh. He has homered in each of the games in Tampa.
Any scintilla of hope for a comeback was crushed in the bottom of the inning when Eduard Bazardo gave up three runs with some help from Cody Bolton.
This story will be updated