Julio Rodríguez hit his first home run since June 15 and also doubled, while J.P. Crawford lined a decisive three-run double as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Thursday to avoid being swept in a three-game series.
“It definitely felt great. Sometimes you have to go through tough stretches to wake up,” Rodríguez commented.
Seattle’s struggling offense had a breakthrough game, with Rodríguez leading the charge. Amidst a batting slump, he connected on an 0-2 pitch from Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes, sending it approximately 428 feet to center field in the fifth inning for his eighth home run, narrowing Baltimore’s lead to 2-1.
In the seventh inning, Rodríguez’s double off Bryan Baker sparked a five-run rally for Seattle. With the bases loaded, Crawford drove in all three runners after Keegan Akin fell behind in the count.
Crawford has been particularly effective with the bases loaded, batting .636 with 37 RBIs in such situations over the past two seasons.
“In my opinion, J.P. puts pressure on the pitcher, not on himself. You can see that,” remarked Seattle manager Scott Servais. “He has a great sense of the strike zone, so he doesn’t chase pitches too often. When he lets the game come to him, that’s when he excels.”
Mitch Garver added a two-run homer to cap Seattle’s offensive surge, his 11th of the season. “There was really poor pitching in the seventh inning,” lamented Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde.
Rodríguez had been in a slump during Seattle’s recent decline, during which their 10-game lead in the AL West shrank to just two games. In the previous 14 games, Rodríguez had no RBIs or extra-base hits.
Despite appearing to injure his right thumb while making a catch in center field in the sixth inning, Rodríguez stayed in the game.
“After moving it around a bit, the discomfort went away,” Rodríguez explained.
