Mariners pitcher forced to hit after club runs into injury snag

Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo

The universal DH may have arrived in Major League Baseball a few years ago, but there are still some rare situations where pitchers are forced to hit for themselves. That happened to the Seattle Mariners in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

Mariners catcher Mitch Garver was hit by a pitch early in Sunday’s game and he was in enough pain that he was forced to leave the game. The problem for the Mariners was that Seattle’s other catcher, Cal Raleigh, was already playing in the DH role.

The Mariners were subsequently forced to move Raleigh from the DH role to catcher for the rest of the game. By rule, that meant the Mariners had to give up the designated hitter, forcing starting pitcher Luis Castillo to hit for himself in the No. 6 spot.

Castillo got his first plate appearance in the fourth inning with a runner at second and nobody out. The Mariners did not even have him bunt; seemingly under strict orders not to swing under any circumstances, the Seattle ace struck out on three pitches that were essentially right down the middle.

Castillo probably hasn’t taken batting practice in years. Even having him bunt would have been a risk and the last thing the Mariners want is him getting hurt in a situation like this. He’s making way too much money for that risk, too.

For what it’s worth, Castillo has 22 career hits in 223 plate appearances, as he started his career in the National League with the Cincinnati Reds. His last plate appearance before Sunday was Oct. 1, 2021.

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