Seattle Mariners fans praise Luis Castillo for his one-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates: "He's the ace for a reason" "What a stud!"

Seattle Mariners ace Luis Castillo was impressive on the mound Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went six innings, giving up zero runs on one hit and striking out ten batters.

He had complete control of the strike zone all game. Castillo threw 96 total pitches, and 64 of those were for strikes. The start has dropped his ERA down to 2.69 on the season.

It's an impressive start, even if Pittsburgh is starting to slump after their red-hot streak. Four pitchers were used in relief for Seattle, and all did their jobs to keep the shutout intact.

On the offensive side of the ball, Seattle shined. Their top three hitters all had two hits apiece. Only one Seattle player failed to get a hit in their dominant performance on Saturday.

Seattle Mariners fans are ecstatic with how Luis Castillo performed. He was nearly perfect on the mound, as he had great control of his pitches and looked sharp.

Fans are impressed that Castillo has bounced back from starting the season off wobbly. He's done nothing but shove on the mound since then, looking like a true ace.

Seattle Mariners need the American League West to cool off

The Seattle Mariners are starting to put it together after an underwhelming start to the season. Saturday's win improves their record to 27-25, just one game behind the Los Angeles Angels.

They would love to see the Texas Rangers stumble. The team has been red-hot lately and holds a 6.5-game lead over Seattle. It's unlikely that Texas will struggle in their next series as they play the Detroit Tigers.

Seattle and Texas face off in a three-game series to start June. This will be the Mariners' chance to gain some ground.

The Mariners need to keep up the momentum they've built recently. They swept the Oakland Athletics earlier in the week and took a game from the Atlanta Braves before that.

This team has a talented roster capable of competing with the best. Players like Julio Rodriguez and Luis Castillo have the talent to take this team far.

It'll be interesting to see if this team can climb up a tough AL West division. Four teams in that division look like playoff contenders, and It may be a battle all season long.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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