Seattle Mariners Leading the League in This Amazing Stat Entering Saturday
When Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo was pulled in the seventh inning of a 2-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, he had done his job and made sure his team was in a great position to pick up the victory.
He also guaranteed the Mariners would continue to lead the league in quality starts.
Castillo earned his 11th quality start of the season on Friday, giving Seattle its 52nd overall — a league-high.
As of Saturday (July 6) morning, Castillo's teammate George Kirby also has 11 quality starts. The Mariners' Logan Gilbert is tied with the San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb with 14. That is the most in baseball.
Bryce Miller has eight and Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock have four apiece.
Lowest ERA after 6 starts to begin a season for the Mariners:
— Gary Hill Jr. (@GaryHillJr) June 6, 2024
1. Bryan Woo 1.07 (2024)
2. Randy Johnson 1.21 (1995)
3. Erik Hanson 1.29 (1993)
4. Logan Gilbert 1.36 (2022)
5. James Paxton 1.43 (2017) pic.twitter.com/9t1wNMj7dm
A quality start comes with the criteria of at least six innings pitched and less than three earned runs allowed.
The Mariners are considered to have one of the very best pitching staffs in the league, and this is just another stat that adds validity to that claim.
Though the M's still lead the league, the production has dipped of late. Seattle has allowed more than three runs in eight of their last 15 games. That number could have been down significantly if it had Woo, who's been nursing a hamstring injury, was available for all that time.
Among the Mariners' qualified starters (more than 10 starts), Gilbert leads the team in ERA (2.91) and opponent batting average (.199). Kirby and Castillo are tied in wins (seven) and Castillo leads in strikeouts (111) and WHIP (1.18). All qualified Seattle pitchers have 95 or more strikeouts this season.
The Mariners have one more quality start than the next-highest team, the Kansas City Royals (51). It'll have a chance to extend or maintain that lead once Hancock takes the bump against the Blue Jays at 1:10 p.m. PT on Saturday. Kirby will get the start against Toronto at the same time on Sunday.
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