Julio Rodriguez didn’t have a hit all night. Didn’t matter. The Seattle Mariners center fielder, activated earlier Saturday after a concussion sidelined him for two and a half weeks, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning and did exactly what you want your star to do. He lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Victor Robles from third and giving the Mariners a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
It was Rodriguez’s second career walk-off plate appearance. It was also Seattle’s seventh win this season that came in the final at-bat. And honestly, after a 1-5 road trip through Florida and a 7-0 loss to the Giants on Friday, the M’s needed this one badly.
Rodriguez served as the designated hitter and batted second. He went 0-for-4. But the moment wasn’t too big for a guy who got cleared to play just hours earlier. Robles started the 10th as the automatic runner, moved to third on Colt Emerson’s bunt, and then J.P. Crawford walked to bring up Julio. He sent a liner to left that was deep enough to score Robles easily.
The Mariners offense had been flat for basically two games. Through six innings against Giants All-Star Logan Webb, they managed exactly one hit. Seattle had produced only three hits over their previous 15 innings before finally snapping out of it.
Down 3-0 in the seventh, the rally started when Randy Arozarena got hit by a pitch and Josh Naylor walked. After Cal Raleigh made the second out, rookie Cole Young crushed a three-run homer to right-center field. It was his 12th of the season and it tied the game. The kid has a knack for big swings.
San Francisco built its lead the hard way. An unearned run in the third came after a throwing error by Young and a fielding mistake by Luke Raley that let Drew Gilbert score. Then Rafael Devers hit a solo homer in the sixth — originally called foul, overturned after the umpires huddled. Willy Adames followed later that same inning with another solo shot.
Bryan Woo gave up three runs (two earned) over six innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. Webb was sharp too: two hits, three runs, one walk, five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Neither starter got the decision.
Seattle’s bullpen held the line after Young’s homer. Eduard Bazardo, Andres Munoz and Jose A. Ferrer combined for four scoreless innings. Ferrer got the win after retiring the Giants in the 10th.
And the defense showed up too. In the top of the 10th, rookie shortstop Colt Emerson made a diving stop on Luis Arraez’s ground ball and threw him out at first. That kept the automatic runner from advancing. A small play that loomed large.
Rodriguez missed 87 games before the concussion — he was hitting .259 with 14 homers, 40 RBIs and 12 steals. The Mariners had to designate utility man Miles Mastrobuoni for assignment to make room for him on the roster. So far, that move looks like the right call.
Leave a Comment