Luis Castillo

Castillo, 32, struck out four and walked two while hitting another. He allowed just three hits, but a double by Lawrence Butler followed by a homer from Brent Rooker in the fifth ended an otherwise solid outing on a dour note. Castillo will take the mound again and hope for some run support against the Tigers next week.

Rooker struck out in five of his first six at-bats, and then broke the schnide with a two-run blast to give the A's a 2-0 lead off Luis Castillo. Rooker isn't a great bet to match his .293 average he put up in 2024, but he's a lock for 30 homers as long as he's healthy enough to play in enough games to reach that number.

It was noticeable to see Brown sitting against a right-hander on Opening Day in favor of Miguel Andujar, but the 32-year-old slugger is in there as the left fielder against righty Luis Castillo on Friday. He'll bat sixth, sandwiched between Tyler Soderstrom and Gio Urshela.

No real surprises for the Mariners as Castillo, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo will follow Opening Day starter Logan Gilbert kick off the season with tasty matchups against the rebuilding Athletics. It'll be Emerson Hancock, who is filling in for an injured George Kirby (shoulder) drawing the starting assignment for Monday's series opener against the upstart Tigers.

Castillo scattered six hits with two walks, and he struck out three. The most important thing is that the 32-year-old was able to work into the sixth inning, so he's plenty stretched out for the start of the season. Castillo had an up-and-down 2024 season that ended with a trip to the injured list due to a hamstring injury, but he offers a solid fantasy floor while getting to play his home games in a pitching utopia.