Sports
Mariners Overcome Astros With Arozarena’s Power and Castillo’s Pitching

SEATTLE, Washington — Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run and Luis Castillo pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.
Arozarena connected with a fastball from Astros left-hander Brandon Walter, sending the ball 445 feet to left-center field. This marked Arozarena’s 10th home run in just 14 games, making him only the second player in Major League Baseball this season to achieve this feat, alongside teammate Cal Raleigh.
The Mariners expanded their lead in the seventh inning, with designated hitter Mitch Garver hitting a home run to give Seattle a 2-0 advantage. Seattle’s scoring continued in the eighth inning with four runs fueled by RBI singles from JP Crawford and Cal Raleigh, a sacrifice fly from Donovan Solano, and a wild pitch that allowed another run to score.
Castillo, who improved his record to 7-5, struck out seven and allowed only three hits during his performance. His dominance on the mound was highlighted by his ability to escape a jam in the third inning, striking out Astros star Jose Altuve with runners in scoring position.
“That strikeout was big,” Castillo said. “It was a tough moment, but I focused on executing my pitches.”
The Mariners, who started the second half of the season five games behind in the division, are eager to gain ground against the Astros, who they won’t face again until mid-September.
In the eighth, Seattle’s offense surged with Raleigh becoming tied for the MLB lead in RBIs with Aaron Judge after his single. Right-hander Logan Gilbert will start for the Mariners in the second game of the series on Saturday, while the Astros will send out their pitcher on the mound.