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Seattle Mariners

Castillo homers, drives in 5 as Diamondbacks beat Mariners

Seattle’s Steve Clevenger (32), Stefen Romero (17) an Efren Navarro celebrate after scoring on a three-run single by Boog Powell. (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
Associated Press

PEORIA, Ariz. – Welington Castillo homered and drove in five runs, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Seattle Mariners 10-8 Monday.

Castillo did all his damage in the game’s first four innings, getting three hits. He’s coming off a successful 2015 season that saw him find a home behind the plate as the Diamondbacks’ No. 1 catcher over the second half. He had 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 80 games after the Mariners traded him to Arizona in early June.

“Just trying to go out there and enjoy what I do. I don’t worry about my hitting at all,” Castillo said. “There’s a lot of guys that want my job and anybody’s job. I just don’t put my head down, that’s not the kind of guy that I am. I like to go out and compete. Hungry, hungry to play every day no matter what happens.”

For the Mariners, Kyle Seager homered and slugging first baseman Dae-Ho Lee, who starred in Korea and Japan before signing with Seattle this offseason, hit his first home run of the spring and started a double play on defense.

“The fastball I hit, it wasn’t that fast,” Lee said via a translator. “I was thinking a changeup.”

Neither team’s starting pitchers were effective. Seattle’s James Paxton gave up four runs on seven hits in three innings. Arizona’s Rubby De La Rosa was chased after facing one batter in the bottom of the third after allowing three runs on four hits and two walks.

“The results obviously are not what I’m looking for,” said Paxton, who is trying to secure a starting rotation spot. “But I felt like I threw the ball really well. Early on, I wasn’t getting ahead of guys as much as I would like but I did a better job with that the second and third inning. The homer (by Castillo) was probably not … a homer in a lot of places.”