Mariners walk off Diamondbacks on Victor Robles’ broken-bat infield single

SEATTLE – Farewell, to the Mariners piggyback … for now. You were awkwardly executed and oddly effective.

The Mariners ran out their pitching combo of Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo for the final time – for the time being – Sunday afternoon in the series finale against Arizona. And like the previous two times the Mariners used this odd pairing, it was highly successful.

“Both these guys deserve a huge pat on the back for the way they’ve approached it and just been selfless in a lot of ways,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said.

Miller tossed five shutout innings before giving way to Castillo, who allowed one earned run in five innings as the M’s beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 in 10 innings to complete a three-game sweep before 41,897 at T-Mobile Park.

Victor Robles delivered the winning hit in the 10th with a broken-bat infield single that scored Randy Arozarena with one out, the second time in the series the M’s celebrated a walk-off in extras after Arozarena delivered the game-winning hit Friday night.

The M’s won their sixth straight, their longest win streak of this season and longest since winning seven consecutive games during their September charge last season. They hit two more home runs – this time from Cole Young and Dominic Canzone – giving them 10 long balls in the three-game set.

And for however strangely structured and at times poorly communicated this piggyback situation was, the raw numbers say it worked. The pair worked 27 total innings pitched over the three starts where they combined efforts and allowed five earned runs for a 1.67 ERA.

Miller tried to be pragmatic about the entire situation and considered the bigger picture of what the M’s are hoping to accomplish several months from now.

“The piggyback thing hasn’t been ideal for all of us so far, but it’s also like it could be a blessing in disguise, saving us a few pitches here and there, a few innings here and there,” Miller said. “Hopefully it works out at the end of the year (and) we’re feeling fresh and ready to go into the postseason.”

The piggyback is ending for now. With the M’s in the beginning stages of playing 16 games in 17 days, the rotation will go to being a six-man setup the next time through. Both Miller and Castillo are likely to make starts next weekend in Detroit.

After that? It’ll depend on many factors, with the health of the entire rotation likely at the top of the list. But at least for the next couple of weeks, we can now retire the piggyback phrase.

“Both of them have continued to throw the ball extremely well and that was the hope. They’ve stayed stretched out quite a bit and we’re in a good spot,” Wilson said.

This time, it was Miller going first and he continued to be overpowering since returning from the injured list. Miller pitched five scoreless innings and has allowed four earned runs total over 21 innings since making his season debut on May 13 in Houston. He struck out six and allowed only one hit. In four of his five innings Sunday, Miller didn’t allow a baserunner. His entire arsenal of pitches seemed to be working, getting strikeouts with the splitter, fastball, sweeper and slider.

Miller needed only 71 pitches to get through his five innings. In every other circumstance, Miller would have kept going, but Castillo took the mound in the sixth.

“I always want to go as long as I can, but we had a plan going into it. I knew when I was coming out,” Miller said.

And while Miller cruised, Castillo twice ran into trouble and wasn’t helped by his defense either time.

Arizona pulled even in the sixth after Ketel Marte walked and went to third with one out on Corbin Carroll’s ground-ball double to center field. Young and J.P. Crawford both hesitated going after the grounder and Julio Rodríguez was late getting to it.

Crawford nabbed Geraldo Perdomo’s grounder and threw out Marte at home, but a wayward slider by Castillo to Nolan Arenado skipped under Jhonny Pereda’s glove and allowed Carroll to score the tying run.

In the eighth, Josh Naylor threw Tim Tawa’s sacrifice bunt attempt into center field after Gabriel Moreno led off with a bloop single. It was a poor decision and Marte’s sacrifice fly pulled Arizona even. Young help ed limit the damage with a leaping grab on Perdomo’s liner to end the inning.

The M’s stayed with Castillo in the 10th inning and after a sac bunt and walk put runners at the corners with one out, Castillo struck out Adrian Del Castillo and Marte grounded out.

“There were a couple obstacles, but the good thing for me is that we were able to overcome them,” Castillo said via team interpreter Freddy Llanos. “The important thing for me is that I’m healthy and we’re throwing the ball right.”

Castillo’s final line: five innings, two hits, one earned run and three strikeouts. And in a way even the M’s couldn’t have scripted, both pitchers threw five innings and exactly 71 pitches.

“Pretty ironic, I think, in some ways, but both did an incredible job,” Wilson said.

For most of the series, the M’s offense came via the home run. Young clobbered his first home run since April 25 with a solo shot leading off the second inning and Canzone added a homer for the second straight game in the bottom of the sixth.

Canzone’s homer was the 10th in the series by the M’s. The last time the M’s homered 10 times in a three-game series was last September in Atlanta, which consisted of consecutive five-homer games.

The M’s will open a three-game series against the Mets beginning Monday night with Emerson Hancock getting the start.

Raleigh maps out return

Cal Raleigh started maybe the most important step in his recovery Friday when he took 30 swings in Arizona. He went through a similar workout Saturday before flying back to Seattle. Sunday morning he was meeting with the training staff to map out a plan for the next couple of days with the hope that by midweek they have a better timeline on the next steps.

Raleigh said he’s kept up on his running and lifting, and he caught one bullpen while in Arizona. Swinging the bat will be the most significant ongoing test to pass before eventually getting into some rehab games.

“I’m hoping by Wednesday kind of having a better idea of where we’re at and what the schedule is, as far as rehab games and where I’m at with that,” he said. “Obviously, day by day it can change and that’s just how it is, unfortunately.

“But these next two days will be pretty telling, as far as how things are going, and obviously I want to keep ramping up the baseball slowly but surely, checking boxes, and then from there it’ll be just communication with staff and trying to set a plan up to get back as soon as I can.”

Raleigh struggled at the plate before going on the IL, hitting just .161 with seven homers, and acknowledged that he’d been playing through discomfort in his right side. He had an 0-for-38 stretch at the plate that was snapped the day before he aggravated the oblique.

“The IL, don’t get me wrong, is not an easy experience and it’s difficult in a lot of ways. But in some ways, I think it can be also a nice breath of fresh air,” Wilson said. “But Cal’s a grinder and wants to get back and wants to be back here.”