One is making a late surge for the American League Cy Young Award, the other may end up in the top three in AL MVP voting.
One is having one of the more dominant stretches of his career, the other has become one of the most-feared hitters in baseball.
One is nicknamed "The Rock," the other, well, is rollin' like Mariners fans haven't seen in years.
There are a number of reasons the M's find themselves in the playoff hunt in mid-September — but two are particularly conspicuous. The first is starting pitcher Luis Castillo, who got the win in Seattle's 3-2 victory over the Angels on Wednesday. The second is center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who's been so dominant lately that the Halos intentionally walked him with a runner on first base in the fifth inning.
Baseball isn't typically a sport in which you can simply ride your stars to success (just ask the Angels, who have had Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout for years and haven't the postseason), but that's what seems to be going on with the Mariners lately. Their two best players have simply been better than anyone they've shared the field with of late.
Let's start with Luis. Entering the game tied for the AL's final wild-card spot, the M's needed a solid, if not standout, outing from their ace. This has not been something that has been hard to come by with Castillo this season, who improved to 13-7 on Wednesday after his 30th start of the season.
The man is fourth in the AL in ERA (3.08), third in innings (181 1/3), fourth in strikeouts (199) and second in WHIP (1.03). Moreover, he has produced four quality starts in his past five appearances as the M's have vaulted themselves back into playoff contention.
Seattle didn't need fancy Wednesday, they needed reliability. And Castillo, who gave up two runs, three hits and struck out eight in six innings, provided just that.
Not a surprise.
"He's put together just an unbelievable season," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "It's about as consistent as you can get. I think that's the one thing that really stands out to me with Castillo. He's literally the rock. He's the epitome of consistency."
Such consistency is why Castillo is second only to Yankees hurler Gerrit Cole in most sportsbooks' AL Cy Young Award odds. Castillo said after Wednesday's win that he isn't putting too much thought into that honor, although he did list winning the prize as one of his goals for the season when spring training began.
It probably won't happen given Cole's body of work this season, but that race is still alive. And because of one of his compatriot's production, the Mariners are, too.
That man, of course, is fellow Dominican Julio Rodriguez. The 22-year-old has been the AL's most potent offensive threat for the past month and half.
After winning AL Player of the Month in August, Rodriguez has continued to terrorize pitchers in September, to the point that opponents are willing to move runners 90 feet closer to home plate just to avoid facing him.
At least the Angels did Wednesday.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Rodriguez came to the plate with Ty France on first. Considering he'd already smacked a one-run double that came about three feet short of clearing the left-field fence — and that he had gone 4 for 5 with a home run and a double vs. Los Angeles on Monday — the Halos wanted nothing to do with him and walked him on purpose.
It defied the laws of probability, and it backfired, as Cal Raleigh tied the score with a single in the next at-bat and Teoscar Hernandez singled in Julio one at-bat later. But that's where Rodriguez is at now — getting Barry Bonds-esque treatment from his frightened foes.
"It was surprising, but he's been on a tear," Raleigh said when asked about Rodriguez's intentional walk. "I don't blame them [the Angels] at all."
One thing the Mariners have always had — even during that 21-year playoff drought — is star power. From Ken Griffey Jr. to Alex Rodriguez to Randy Johnson to Ichiro to Felix Hernandez — it was rare that the M's didn't have a baseball titan on their roster.
That hasn't changed. One of the game's best pitchers and one of the game's biggest offensive threats share a dugout and are starting to make their nine-figure contracts look like bargains.
Two thriving players. One dangerous team.
