Sept. 14 – It might be a little late to save the Seattle Mariners ‘ playoff hopes, but Julio Rodriguez is finally out of the way.
Rodriguez hit a three-run homer to upper left field with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night and the Mariners rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the German Texas Rangers 5-4.
The American League West rivals will continue their four-game series in Seattle on Saturday night.
“I think it’s every player’s dream,” said Rodriguez, who went 4 for 5 and got a double. “As a player, you want to be in the batter’s position in those moments.”
M’s manager Dan Wilson said: “That home run was demolished. That was huge, that was a big hit. … Not a lot of pitches fell into the upper deck. That was really launching.”
Over the previous 15 games, as Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez became the Mariners’ hitting coach, Rodriguez was batting .344 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and a 0.981 OPS.
This season, Rodriguez is hitting .263 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs.
“He brings a lot of experience every night,” Rodriguez said earlier this week when asked about Martinez’s impact. “I’m happy he’s on our side. Really. Happy.
Martinez, a two-time batting champion and career .312 hitter who played 18 seasons in Seattle, tried to simplify the approach for Rodriguez and the rest of the Mariners’ hitters. Still, despite the recent surge, the Mariners’ team batting average is .220, tied with the Chicago White Sox for worst in the major leagues.
“I don’t care if the exit speed is 120 mph,” Martinez said. “If you’re spinning the golf ball wrong, your strikeout average is going to be lower and your production isn’t going to be as good.”
The Mariners (75-73) have won six of their last nine games and are 4 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West and 3 1/2 games behind Houston in the wild-card round.
The highlight for the Rangers (71-77) on Friday was the return of two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, making his first appearance since Tommy John surgery in April 2023. deGrom pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking one and striking out four.
This comes a night after Kumar Rocker allowed one run over four innings in his MLB debut.
On Saturday, the Rangers will have a starter for the third consecutive night, with right-hander Max Scherzer (2-4, 3.89 ERA) on the injured list because of right shoulder fatigue, out since July 30 for the first time since then. Scherzer has made eight career starts against Seattle and is 4-2 with a 2.85 ERA.
“We had coverage (Saturday) to help Max,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We knew we had to have that coverage.”
The Mariners on Saturday will face right-hander Logan Gilbert (7-11, 3.15 ERA), who is 4-2 in 12 starts against Texas, with an ERA of 2.31.
Gilbert has allowed no runs in both wins over the Rangers this season. On April 29, in Arlington, Texas, he pitched 6 2/3 innings in a 4-0 victory, allowing two hits and striking out six. On June 16 in Seattle, he allowed only two hits in a 5-0 victory and struck out nine in eight innings.
–Visual-level media
