Catcher Welington Castillo on Miguel Castro's strong outing

On a night when Chris Tillman struggled again, the Orioles fell behind 7-0 and a winning streak ended, Miguel Castro's performance stood out big time last night.

Touching 100 mph with a fastball that averaged 96.3 mph, Castro threw a career-high six innings and allowed just one hit and no runs. He did give up an inherited run, but also settled down to pitch four perfect innings to end his outing. He needed seven pitches in a 1-2-3 fifth and averaged 98.6 mph on his fastball. He got through the sixth on 12 pitches, the seventh on nine and the eighth on only six pitches.

He was rolling like a truck heading downhill. It was impressive.

"He's a young guy with a really great arm," said Welington Castillo, his catcher last night. "He attacks the hitters with a fastball down at the knees and a good slider. He throws strikes.

"He's got a four-seam (fastball) and two-seamer. Last night his two-seamer was moving a lot and he got a lot of ground balls. He'll throw the four-seamer down in the zone, often below the knees. The two-seamer is running down and into the (right-handed) hitter and he had great movement on it. That was a big pitch for him last night. I know most people are talking about his velo. But for a power guy, locating the fastball like he does is pretty impressive."

The slider is a pitch that Castro throws 27 percent of the time and can command well enough that he uses it to get ahead in the count. Opponent batters, when they put the slider in play, bat just .044 against that pitch this year.

"He can throw it (the slider) to righties and lefties. Most of the time he throws it to get strike one. He wants to attack the hitter and get early outs. The slider can be used to get ahead. He can also bounce it (for a chase pitch)," Castillo said.

Just 22, Castro was acquired by the Orioles from the Rockies on April 7 for a player to be named later or cash. At the time it didn't seem to be a big pickup, but the deal got the Orioles a pitcher with a big fastball and a lot of promise.

Manager Buck Showalter said: "I think it's a tribute to the front office and Dan (Duquette) and them (for acquiring him), and also to player development. They did a good job in the minor leagues tightening his breaking ball.

"I think he is comfortable and knows there was a plan that was set out for him. You can tell he's comfortable here and appreciates the opportunity he's getting ... There are a lot of intangibles with him that I don't think people get a chance to see because of the language barrier. He's got some maturity to him."

In 22 games, Castro is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA for the Orioles. Over 33 innings he has allowed 24 hits (and a .209 average against) with eight walks, 16 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.970.

Castillo would agree that Castro has shown maturity for such a young pitcher, and said Castro really wants to learn more about pitching. Catchers such as Castillo and Caleb Joseph are ready to help him get better.

"He listens," Castillo said. "The last time, he gave up a homer to a lefty. He tried to go in and the ball ran back over the middle. I tell him, 'Next time, with your movement, maybe think to hit the guy on the leg.' But he's not going to hit him. The ball will run back over the corner. He listens a lot. He's smart and knows what he is doing out there."

Castro was stretched out a bit at Double-A Bowie in May and June, throwing as many as 74 pitches in one game. You have to wonder if he gets moved into Chris Tillman's rotation spot the next time it comes up. Showalter has made no such announcements on that except to say today that Tillman is not a candidate for the disabled list. But on a night the right-hander struggled badly again, Castro had his best outing yet as an Oriole.