AROUND THE HORN

Athletics: Jacob deGrom got hit around and lasted a season-low four innings, and the Mets lost 10-4 to the Athletics on Saturday to miss a chance to create some distance in the NL East race. DeGrom (5-3) was tagged for five runs and four walks — the worst start for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner since 2019. The right-hander had never faced the A’s before. In his last three starts, deGrom has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 innings. The four walks doubled his previous season total. The Mets lost for only the second time in their last nine games. They began the day with a 2 ½-game division lead over reigning World Series champion Atlanta. Mark Vientos hit a tying solo home run in the Mets second to make it 4-all. Seth Brown’s leadoff homer in the third put the A’s ahead for good. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer, his 38th, in the Mets. Staked to an immediate 3-0 lead, deGrom gave up four runs in the bottom half. DeGrom had struck out eight or more with either one or no walks in eight straight starts, the longest such streak in major league history, but fanned a season-low five. His last time out against Pittsburgh, deGrom became the only pitcher to strike out at least 13 batters with no walks in five innings.

Mariners: Right-hander Luis Castillo agreed to a $108 million, five-year contract with the Mariners that starts next season, giving up a chance to become a free agent after the 2023 World Series. The deal announced Saturday includes an option for 2028 that could make the agreement worth $133 million for six seasons. Castillo was the big trade deadline acquisition for the Mariners when they got him from the Reds. The hope was Castillo would be the difference in Seattle’s push to end the longest playoff drought in baseball and that the Mariners could convince him to stick around longer. “Luis has been one of the top pitchers in MLB over the past six seasons,” Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said. “He is a dynamic power pitcher in the prime of his career with a track record of consistency. Bringing him to Seattle represented a key moment in our ongoing efforts to build a championship roster. Similarly, this deal illustrates our continued commitment to both the present and future of this team.” Castillo has a $7.35 million salary this year, and his new deal includes a $7 million signing bonus payable within 60 days of the contract’s approval by the commissioner’s office. He gets salaries of $10 million in 2023 and

$22.75 million annually from 2024-27. The Mariners have protection against an injury to the UCL in his pitching arm, a $5 million conditional option for 2028 that can be exercised only if from 2025-27 he is on the injured list for more than 130 consecutive days due to Tommy John surgery or an operation stemming from damage to the ligament. If the conditional option speifications are not met, the contract includes a

$25 million option for 2028 that would become guaranteed if Castillo pitches at least 180 innings in 2027 and an independent physcian determines he doesn’t have an injury that would cause him to start 2028 on the injured list. Castillo cannot be traded without his consent from 2023-25 and would receive a $1 million assignment bonus if dealt after that.