Is Luis Castillo-Bryce Miller piggyback actually carrying surging Mariners?

An inch, maybe two - and we're likely having a different conversation.

If Mariners second baseman Cole Young doesn't leap and make a run-saving snag on a two-out line drive in the eighth, then the outcome might have been piggy-wack.

But Young did make the catch, and Seattle's front office suddenly looks like MLB's genius bar. As for how the M's look? Like the World Series-caliber squad so many dubbed them at the beginning of the season.

On Sunday, the Mariners (31-29) completed a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks via a 3-2 walkoff. The 10-inning victory extended their winning streak to six and put them 2 1/2 games ahead of the A's for first place in the American League West. Bookending this half-dozen heater were the infamous piggyback pitching outings, in which usual starters Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo split multi-inning efforts rather than let one hurler go deep. Nobody liked this. But guess what? It worked.

Last Monday, Castillo slammed his jacket and hat on the dugout bench after learning he was being pulled after four scoreless innings vs. the A's. Yes, it was part of a plan to keep him and Miller - the latter of whom was coming off an injury - fresh as they inched toward a six-man rotation, but experiencing said plan in real time frustrated the three-time All-Star. Nevertheless, Miller came in and allowed two runs in five innings en route to the Mariners' 9-2 win. Success.

On Sunday, it was Miller who got the start, and after five scoreless innings in which he gave up just one hit on 71 pitches, Castillo came in to replace him in the sixth as Seattle held a 1-0 lead.

This is the kind of scenario that exposes management like a punt returner who forgot to call for a fair catch. And for a second, it looked like the gunners had a clear path.

Castillo walked Ketel Marte with one out, then surrendered a double to Corbin Carroll - although a miscommunication between Young and shortstop J.P. Crawford enabled the latter. Even so, a wild pitch allowed Carroll, who had moved to third on a fielder's choice, to score two at-bats later.

After going 1-2-3 vs. the Diamondbacks in the seventh, in which Mariners DH Dominic Canzone hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the frame, Castillo gave up a leadoff single to Gabriel Moreno, who advanced to third on the next at-bat due to a throwing error by first baseman Josh Naylor. So with no outs and runners on second and third, Marte hit a sacrifice fly that plated Moreno to tie the score at 2-2. Tim Tawa moved to third on a ground out to first one at-bat later, then Geraldo Perdomo scorched a line drive that looked like a sure RBI single before Young leapt and made the inning-ending catch.

So instead of Castillo allowing three earned runs in three innings and putting his team behind, he allowed one earned run over five innings. And when Victor Robles singled home Randy Arozarena in the bottom of the 10th to give the M's the 3-2 victory, it was Luis who earned the win.

That's one earned run over the past nine innings for the Dominican if you're keeping track. Miller, meanwhile, has a 1.71 ERA in 21 innings of work. Now this six-man rotation Seattle plans to pivot to doesn't look so bad. Now, with Julio Rodriguez slamming 10 home runs in May and the Mariners sweeping their last two opponents - a postseason path seems clear.

Remember, the M's are still awaiting the returns of last year's MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh and Brendan Donovan. And with the next three teams on their schedule - the Mets, Tigers and Orioles - all sitting (well) below .500, a monstrous lead in the division could be imminent.

Given all the talent that you guys brought back from last year, did you feel a run like this was inevitable? Miller was asked Sunday.

For sure. I think for the first, however many games, we never really played to our potential. Even the games we won, either we didn't pitch that well or we wouldn't hit that well. It's like whenever this all clicks, we're going to be a really good team," he said. "And we're still missing (Donovan) and we're still missing Cal. So I think we have room to get better.

There has been plenty to pick apart about this year's Mariners. There have been some in-game management gaffes, some poor communication, and a Raleigh slump that wasn't improving before he strained his right oblique.

But the run that many thought was coming has arrived - in part due to a piggyback that carried the whole team.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 6:37 AM.