Mariners' Dan Wilson Defends Controversial Quick Hook For Luis Castillo

The Seattle Mariners faced the exact same decision on back-to-back nights in the American League Championship Series, but they chose opposite paths.

On Wednesday night, Mariners manager Dan Wilson left George Kirby in the game when he ran into trouble in the third inning, and he gave up six more earned runs to the Toronto Blue Jays' offense. On Thursday, Wilson instead opted to take out starter Luis Castillo with one out in the top of the third inning, with two runs already in.

The decision achieved lukewarm results at best, as reliever Gabe Speier walked in a run with the bases loaded, struck out the next two batters to avert disaster, then gave up two runs in the fourth to put the Mariners down 5-1. They'd go on to drop the contest by a final of 8-2.

WIlson defends Castillo decision

Oct 16, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo (58) reacts after the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

It's never easy to take a three-time All-Star out of the game so quickly, even if Castillo hasn't been his most dominant self at times this year. It was a decision for Wilson that could have backfired either way, and he admitted it wasn't an easy conversation to have with his starter.

"Just (told him) that we were going to go to Gabe in that situation,” Wilson said, per Josh Kirshenbaum of MLB.com. “It was tough. Again, it's a tough decision and it was not an easy one and not an easy one to tell him. But that's what we went with ... just an opportunity to let him know.”

In attempting to explain the logic behind the move, Wilson credited the Toronto offense, which was one of the most potent in baseball all season and is now red-hot heading into what has essentially become a best-of-three showdown with a trip to the World Series at stake.

"We know about this offense,” Wilson said, per Kirshenbaum. “They struck quickly and, again, it just felt like it was a situation where we knew we could be aggressive, and tonight was an opportunity to do that with Gabe there and we went with it.”

Now, Speier and several of his bullpen counterparts are slightly taxed heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Friday night, so it remains to be seen whether pulling Castillo will have longer-lasting ramifications.

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