Takeaways From Seattle Mariners 8-3 Cactus League Loss to San Diego Padres
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PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners had gotten close to a one-to-one replica of the major league lineup in recent days. But the club had to get creative with two split-squad games on Saturday. The Mariners hosted their spring training partners, the San Diego Padres, at the Peoria Sports Complex in one of them and fell 8-3 to their National League rivals.
The Padres were the successful team, but there were some highlights for several Seattle major leaguers.
Here are some takeaways from the Cactus League contest:
Luis Castillo almost season-ready
The Mariners used two starters from the major league rotation for each respective split-squad game. Luis Castillo got the ball against San Diego.
Castillo pitched 4.2 innings, allowed two earned runs off five hits and struck out four batters. Both runs came in the top of the fourth inning. Castillo allowed a solo home run to Gavin Sheets and an RBI double to Connor Joe.
Castillo used the entire range of his arsenal on Saturday and, per his own words, is nearly ready for the year.
"(I felt) good," Castillo said via translator Freddy Llanos after his start Saturday. "I think I'm about 95% ready for the regular season."
Seattle manager Dan Wilson was complimentary toward Castillo's start.
"I thought (Castillo) threw the ball very, very well today," Wilson said in a postgame interview. "Got us into that fifth inning, it was good to see him stretch it out a bit. Really good stuff, I thought. Using all his pitches, good offspeed pitches, as well."
Arozarena hits finds Randy Land
Randy Arozarena was one of the few big leaguers in the lineup and was the most impressive Saturday. In the bottom of the fourth, Arozarena tied the game at 2-2 with a solo home run to left field. It was his first homer of the spring. It went 406 feet with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph. He finished the game 2-for-3 with a run and RBI from his homer.
That one ain't coming back 👋 pic.twitter.com/AeUPPuNg2g
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 15, 2025
"I thought Randy's home run was a really nice swing," Wilson said. "Saw him leg out that ground ball later in the game. So liked what I saw from Randy today."
Ryan Bliss was the only other Mariner to have multiple hits. He went 2-for-2 with two runs. He and Arozarena combined for four of Seattle's five hits on Friday.
Other notes
Catcher Mitch Garver played his first game on Saturday since getting hit on the wrist by a pitch during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He didn't have a hit, but was walked after successfully challenging a called strike that was overturned into a ball four.
Earlier in the game, while at catcher, Garver had another successful challenge on a called ball that was overturned into a strike.
"He's on fire," Wilson said. "Between he and Cal (Raleigh), we've won a lot of decisions back there. Yeah, those guys have done a pretty good job. They know the strike zone, so good for them."
Up next
Seattle will play the Cincinnati Reds at 1:05 p.m. PT at Goodyear Park in Goodyear, Ariz.
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