Luis Castillo can't close late lead, White Sox rally past stunned Mariners

Adam Jude, The Seattle Times on May 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners’ experiment with a piggyback pitching plan could not have started any better.

It could not have finished much worse.

The Mariners’ offense was held to only one hit — a Julio Rodríguez first-inning single — and Luis Castillo couldn’t close out a one-run lead in the ninth inning, as the Chicago White Sox rallied for a 2-1 victory Tuesday night atop a stunned, energetic crowd at T-Mobile Park.

Castillo, in the first regular-season relief appearance of his career, walked Munetaka Murakami to open the ninth inning and then hit the next batter, Miguel Vargas, with a 95-mph sinker on the hand on a 1-2 pitch.

After a peculiar pitching change, both base runners would eventually score on soft singles off Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz.

The Mariners had entered uncertain territory going into Tuesday’s game with a tag-team pitching plan, turning to Bryce Miller to start and Castillo tabbed as the piggyback option out of the bullpen.

Miller was sensational in his first home start of the season, allowing only one hit with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Castillo was sharp when he emerged out of the bullpen to start the seventh inning, striking out the first three batters he faced on fastballs.

The veteran right-hander escaped a jam in the eighth inning when he got Sam Antonacci to ground out to Colt Emerson at shortstop to strand two runners.

Back out for the ninth, trying to preserve the 1-0 lead, Castillo got into immediate trouble, with the walk of Murakami and then hitting Vargas.

Wilson at that point tried to make a pitching change to call in Muñoz, but because pitching coach Pete Woodworth had just made a mound visit moments before — before another pitch was thrown — home plate umpire Ryan Blakney told Wilson a change was not allowed then.

Castillo promptly struck out Colson Montgomery for the first out of the inning, then prompting Wilson to make the call to Muñoz out of the bullpen.

After the White Sox executed a double steal, Chase Meidroth sent a soft single just past Josh Naylor near first base to tie the score at 1-1.

Andrew Benintendi followed with a soft single that deflected off the glove of a diving Naylor, driving in the winning run.

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