Seattle's Bullpen Is Carrying Them, and Minnesota Has No Answer for What's Coming Monday

The Mariners just swept St. Louis three games straight, and here's the thing nobody wants to talk about: their bullpen didn't give up a single run in those three contests. Jose A. Ferrer locked down the ninth inning of that final 3-2 road win on Sunday and grabbed his first save of the season. This is the team Seattle wants to lean on heading into Minneapolis for a three-game series against the Twins starting Monday, and honestly, it's working.

A Bullpen That Actually Shows Up

Good bullpens are invisible until they blow a game. The Mariners have flipped that script entirely. Seattle is riding a four-game winning streak and has taken six of its last eight games, and the bullpen is the reason. Manager Dan Wilson knows exactly what he has in those arms. "We've got guys we trust in those spots," Wilson said. "And they just continue to do the job."

Cal Raleigh, who hit his sixth home run of the season on Sunday, isn't even taking credit for the turnaround. "They're a massive part of this team," Raleigh said about the bullpen. "Without them, we wouldn't be where we are." Raleigh is sitting at .204 with 15 RBIs through the early part of the season, but he knows where the real momentum is coming from.

The Twins Are Falling Apart

Minnesota is the opposite story. The Twins dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday, losing 4-2 to Tampa Bay. That's nine losses in their last ten games, and manager Derek Shelton is trying to keep his young team from panicking. "We're going through a tough funk," Shelton said. "We have to stay on the course. We have to stay positive. It seemed like early in the season, we were capitalizing on everything. Right now, we're not capitalizing. We need to flip the switch."

Castillo Takes the Mound Searching for Win No. 1

Luis Castillo gets the ball for Seattle on Monday as he chases his first win of the season. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.01 ERA through six starts, but he's been striking guys out at a serious clip, sitting at 23 strikeouts over 23 1/3 innings. In his last start Tuesday against Oakland, he went five innings, allowed two runs on five hits. Minnesota will counter with Connor Prielipp, a 25-year-old left-hander making only the second start of his big-league career. The rookie made his debut Wednesday and allowed two runs on four hits in four innings against the Mets while fanning six and walking nobody. This will be Prielipp's first start in front of his hometown crowd. He's from Tomah, Wisconsin, about 175 miles from the Twin Cities.

First pitch Monday in Minneapolis. The Twins need a spark. The Mariners just need their bullpen to keep doing what it's been doing.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.