articleThe Brief Luis Castillo pitched six scoreless innings on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts as the Mariners beat the Royals 2-0 to tie Houston for the AL West lead. Luis Castillo pitched six innings of three-hit ball, Jorge Polanco and J.P. Crawford drove in runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Thursday to climb back into a first-place tie with the Houston Astros in the AL West. Castillo (10-8) dueled with Kansas City counterpart Stephen Kolek, who allowed two runs — one earned — while pitching into the eighth inning. Castillo only allowed one other runner, a single by Royals rookie Carter Jensen in the fifth. Up nextThe Mariners begin their pivotal series in Houston with RHP Bryan Woo (14-7, 3.02 ERA) on the mound Friday night.