Donning Mother’s Day pink on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at T-Mobile Park, Julio Rodriguez found and blistered a 109-mph laser-beam to center field for his second home run of the season — both a promising sign for the two-time All-Star and the punctuation of an early stampede.
Sunday’s home second inning seemingly checked each box on the Mariners’ season wish-list: consistent contact, a pair of old-school, small-ball-type sacrifices, and the mammoth swing from its cornerstone outfielder that capped a four-run frame. Rodriguez’s two-run homer pushed Seattle’s early lead to five in a rubber match with the Oakland Athletics, and Mariners starter Luis Castillo cruised through six strong innings of Sunday’s 8-4 win.
Don’t look now — the Mariners are back in first place.
“(Julio) showed up yesterday for early work on the field. He was here before I was here today,” manager Scott Servais said. “(He was) in the batting cage. He knows it’s coming.”
“It’s been a lot of work,” Rodriguez said in his on-field postgame interview, still in shades under the sun. “We’re going to continue to work every single day to keep producing results out here and keep winning ball games.”
And despite Castillo’s uncharacteristic start to the season in early April, ‘La Piedra’ has been rock solid of late. Castillo is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and seven walks in his last five starts. Per Mariners PR, his 31 quality starts since joining Seattle in 2022 are tied with New York’s Gerrit Cole and Houston’s Framber Valdez for most in the American League in that span.
Castillo painted edges of Sunday’s strike zone with a riding fastball, and fooled Oakland hitters with a slider that swerved down and away. Behind in counts more than desired, he surrendered two runs on a pair of solo homers, but fanned eight without a walk on seven hits.
“It starts with our starter,” Servais said. “And The Rock was really good out there today.”
Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI; he missed his second home run of the afternoon by inches in the fifth inning, and settled with a loud double to left-center.
With the victory the Mariners improved to 22-19. Seattle’s series win over the A’s moved the M’s back into first place in the AL West by a half-game after the Texas Rangers suffered a weekend sweep by the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Twins take three of four in Minnesota
No, these Mariners starting pitchers weren’t superhuman. They were mortal, after all.
The Minnesota Twins jolted Seattle pitching for 26 runs in four games last week, and won three of them. It snapped the Mariners’ six-series win streak, and it ended an historic 21-game stretch of two-or-fewer earned runs by standout Seattle starting pitching.
George Kirby allowed three early home runs on Wednesday, but Logan Gilbert was hit hardest in Thursday’s finale, an 11-1 loss. The Twins shelled him for nine hits and eight runs in four innings, including a five-run first — unseen by Seattle’s most dependable arm all season and fresh off his eight-inning shutout over rival Houston last weekend.
“The Twins outplayed us,” Servais told reporters after the Mariners dropped three of four. “They did. They swung the bat better, they pitched better, they executed better.
“They got rolling, and we couldn’t stop it.”
Matt Brash out for season
One of Seattle’s top relievers will miss all of 2024 and beyond.
Matt Brash, known league-wide for a “wipeout” slider with foolish secondary movement, recently underwent Tommy John surgery, announced by general manager Justin Hollander on Wednesday.
“He’s a great security blanket to have when you map out a plan each night,” Servais said. “We’ve always tried to use him in the highest leverage spots, because we think he’s one of our best relievers.
“It’s a huge loss.”
Brash led MLB in 2023 with 78 appearances. The 26-year-old targeted a May return after initial arm discomfort in spring training, but was unable to rebound from full-strength bullpen sessions.
Less than two weeks ago, the Mariners shut down Brash indefinitely.
“What he did for us last year was unbelievable, how many times he came through for us,” Hollander said. “Probably one of the most popular players in our organization among his teammates, among our staff members.”
Brash’s surgery included a ligament repair and brace insertion by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas. The Mariners anticipate a 12-month recovery timeline, which pegs the reliever’s return for June 2025.
“I’m crushed for Matt,” Hollander said.
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