Julio’s heroics power Mariners to sweep of Rangers
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers thanks to a Julio Rodriguez three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, and some great bullpen work. Since the return of Julio and after that brutal series against Houston, it seems as if the Mariners have found their groove. The Mariners wrap up their Texas homestand on a high note, before heading out on the road for a brutal stretch against the Astros and Yankees.
Kyle Lewis and Julio Rodriguez celebrate Julio’s homer (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Witnessing the greatness of Julio
21-year-old Julio Rodriguez is a superstar in the making, and he may be in the MVP conversation now in addition to rookie of the year. Since his return, Julio has put his finger prints all over the series. J-ROD put the cheery on top of the series with his three-run blast in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Seattle the lead that they would never look back from. Having a relatively quiet day with a lineup, strikeout, and ground out, the Mariners center fielder came up clutch and made another memory that fans will have forever.
Having Rodriguez on the team to begin the year was fun due to his personality and the talent that he possesses. I do not think anyone could have quite predicted the moments that Julio has produced so far this season, but it is for sure that nobody is complaining. The brief time when Julio had to sit out (the Astros series) was tough yes, but any idea that he should have played through the pain is wrong. I discussed keeping him out in an effort to make sure that injury did not get aggravated, and look what he did in the Rangers series. Julio will be just fine, sit back and witness.
A bulldog Marco appearance
Starter Marco Gonzales has gone under the radar this year with his good performances, something that he has gotten used to. Before we get to the “slander” that Gonzales gets, let us take a look at his pitching outing today that kept Seattle in striking distance. Gonzales pitched a nice long game of seven innings, only allowing two runs off of four hits. Where Marco got in trouble was the fact that most of those hits and the one run came in the fifth and sixth innings where Texas got their only runs.
Gonzales has been given nicknames as “Not sexy,” and “boring,” but at the end of the day his production speaks for itself. He may not have high exit velocity, or nasty breaking balls. Marco has led the way for this rotation in terms of quality starts, and has been an innings eater. A local kid, and somebody that loves the city of Seattle. We should all be fans of Marco Gonzales.
Starter Marco Gonzales was effective in the game (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Reflection
A sweep such as this one is good for the ballclub, as you regain some form of momentum following the beat down you suffered at the hands of Houston to end your 14-game winning streak. Granted that the streak would still have ended at some point, losing in that fashion to the Astros is more akin to what we had seen in prior years. This Mariner ballclub is different, and they now have a chance to show it with a brutal stretch in July/August and then a mostly “tame” stretch to close out the regular season. Seattle potentially has the keys to the postseason in their hands if they can navigate these Houston/Yankees series and do their job down the stretch.
Reliever Andres Munoz (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Quick notes
Seattle reliever Andres Munoz extended his scoreless innings streak to 16 since June 23rd, spanning across 14 appearances.
Carlos Santana sits at 1,498 career hits, just two shy of 1,500. He aims to hit that mark on this upcoming road trip.
The Mariners have not had a losing record against the Rangers in a season since 2019, and lead the all-time record at 363-353.
Ty France leads all qualified American league first basemen in bWAR, OPS+, tied for second in hits, tied for fifth in homers, fourth in RBI, first in batting average, second in OBP, fourth in slugging, and tied for third in total bases
Catcher Cal Raleigh pinch hit for Luis Torrens late in the game (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
What’s next
The Mariners go now on an absolutely brutal road trip, one that seemed like an intimidating road block when looked at before All-Star break and still does seem that way. Seattle begins their road trip against Houston tomorrow, July 28th with a first pitch time of 5:10PM as Logan Gilbert faces off against Jose Urquidy. Seattle will face Houston for four games, then traveling to New York to play the Yankees for three games.