\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”thumbnail_url”:null,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”\”If I start crying or complaining or beating myself up about what happened, I’m not going to fully enjoy the moment that I have right now,” Rodríguez said. “So that’s exactly what I did today … just go out there and hustle.”\n\nRodríguez’s 162-point drop in slugging percentage, to . 323 heading into Thursday, was tied for the seventh-largest drop in MLB from last year among 173 qualified hitters. For context, he hit . 509 in 2022, when he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Thursday’s double was his first since June 9 and second since May 12.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”“,”providerName”:”MLB”,”providerUrl”:null,”thumbnail_url”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/ar_121:168,c_fill,g_face/w_121/v1/people/677594/action/vertical/current”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:425,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”“A lot is asked of him,” Servais said. “And I just want him to be himself. He doesn’t have to carry the team. It’s OK to show emotion. It’s OK to get upset when you don’t have a good game and stuff like that. That’s normal. And I hope today makes things easier for him.”,”type”:”text”}),,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/news/julio-rodriguez-s-big-offensive-day-leads-mariners-in-win-over-orioles”,”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary”:”SEATTLE — The joy with which he plays is what propelled him to the major leagues at just 21, on his way to becoming one of the young faces of the game. But in the midst of what is arguably the worst stretch of his young career, perhaps a “,” tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:({“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”daniel-kramer”,”title”:”Daniel Kramer”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-136″,”title”:”Seattle Mariners”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:136″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”,”gamePk”:745236,”slug”:”gamepk-745236″,”title”:”2024/07/04 bal@sea”,”type”:”game”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-677594″,”title”:”Julio Rodriguez”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:677594″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”game-recap”,”title”:”recap du game”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”bat-flip”,”title”:”bat flip”,”type”:”taxonomy”}),,”type”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/v1720137525/mlb/cqx7bku3tkw0v529teyz”,”title”:”Julio Rodriguez’s big offensive day leads Mariners to victory over Orioles”}},”Person:677594″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:677594},”Team:136″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:136},”Person:641487″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:641487},”Person:641598″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:641598}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”mlbglobal08,mlbcom08″,”linkInternalFilters”:”mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”:”Major League Baseball”,”lang”:”en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
02:10 UTC
SEATTLE — The joy of the game is what propelled him to the major leagues at just 21, en route to becoming one of the young faces of the game. But in the midst of what is arguably the worst stretch of his young career, Julio Rodriguez may need a fiery edge.
Seattle’s struggling star emptied his emotional tank in an exhilarating 7-3 victory over the Orioles on Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Park, and it led to his best game of the year.
“Sometimes you have to go through tough times to really wake up,” Rodriguez said.
He got the Mariners on the board with a Statcast-projected 428-foot solo home run as they trailed in the fifth, then sparked their decisive five-run comeback in the seventh with a leadoff double that left his bat at 113 mph, easily his hardest hit of the season, including home runs.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez jammed his right thumb catching a ball in the sixth inning, which was painful enough to prompt Mariners manager Scott Servais and head strength and conditioning coach Kyle Torgerson to come to center field. Rodriguez was seen shaking hands throughout the frame and looking frustrated after Torgerson retreated to the dugout.
“Of course, you’re always afraid,” Rodríguez said of a possible injury. “But after moving around a little bit, (the pain) went away.”
But if it wasn’t the double that allayed concerns about his thumb’s health, it was his 18th steal of the year that came immediately afterward, which he got on a rare head-first slide to third base. As he got to his feet, Rodríguez yelled toward the dugout down the first-base line and clapped his hands emphatically.
“It was contagious,” said JP Crawford, who hit a two-goal save moments later. “It got me going, for sure. I think it got the whole team going. It got everybody going.”
Rodriguez has shown this type of emotion before, but it was particularly vivid during a season that has been difficult.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t understand my positive side in the way I play,” Rodríguez said. “With joy, it doesn’t matter. I feel like I go out there and give it my all. I feel like that’s my style of play. And a lot of people can be wrong, but sometimes you have to remind them of that.”
Last Thursday, Rodríguez had just his third multi-base hit game of the year, following April 17 against Cincinnati (two doubles) and May 12 against Oakland (when he hit a double and a home run). His lack of power has been well documented, prompting him to visit his personal hitting coach, Osvaldo Diaz, whom he has been seeing since he was a prospect, and do some extensive work up front.
Diaz pointed out in passing what even casual observers have noticed: Rodríguez has been off-balance when he throws his “A” swing, which has led to timing issues. Mechanically, Rodríguez has regularly tripped over himself toward home plate in those moments. Mentally, he has resurfaced and tends to try to strike out.
Diaz, who was invited to Seattle this week by Mariners hitting director Jarret DeHart, said he and Rodriguez are “trying to get in his legs better” because “there are too many moving parts.”
Thursday’s massive home run showed Rodriguez may have found something, as it was arguably his cleanest swing of the year. But he decided not to talk about it, perhaps out of sensitivity given his early-season struggles or a desire to protect himself from giving away secrets.
“If I start crying, complaining or feeling guilty about what happened, I’m not going to fully enjoy the moment,” Rodriguez said. “So that’s exactly what I did today… I just went out there and gave it everything I had.”
Rodriguez’s 162-point drop in slugging percentage, to .323 heading into Thursday, was tied for the seventh-largest drop in MLB from last year among 173 qualified hitters. For context, he hit .509 in 2022, when he won the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Thursday’s double was his first since June 9 and second since May 12.
“We ask a lot of him,” Servais said. “And I just want him to be himself. He doesn’t have to carry the team. It’s OK to show your emotions. It’s OK to get upset when you don’t have a good game and things like that. That’s normal. And I hope today will lighten things up for him.”
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