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AS YOU MAY KNOW…Julio Rodríguez belted 2 home runs last night, his 29th and 30th homers of the season…Julio, who hit 32 home runs in 2023, is the ninth player in Mariners history with multiple 30+ homer seasons, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (6x), Alex Rodriguez (3x), Nelson Cruz (4x), Jay Buhner (3x), Cal Raleigh (3x), Bret Boone (2x), Richie Sexson (2x) and Kyle Seager (2x), but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Julio is only the second Mariners player with multiple 30+ homer seasons within their first 4 career seasons, along with teammate Cal Raleigh?…Raleigh, who is in his fifth MLB season, hit 30 home runs in 2023 and 34 home runs in 2024.
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners wrap up their 9-game road trip with the finale of 3 games against the Atlanta Braves (1–1)…Seattle has also seen the Cleveland Guardians (1–2) and Tampa Bay Rays (0–3) on the trip…the Mariners begin a 7-game homestand starting tomorrow night, with 3 games against the St. Louis Cardinals (9/8–9/10) and 4 games against the Los Angeles Angels (9/11–9/14)…today’s game will be televised live on Roku and therokuchannel.com with Angie Mentink and Braves broadcaster Brandon Gaudin on the call, with Brad Adam serving as field reporter…the game will be broadcast live on 770 AM KTTH with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr. on the call.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners defeated the Braves by a 10–2 score last night to even the series…Seattle looks to even its road series record on the year, coming into play with a 10–11–2 road series record and its most recent road series win occurring July 11–13 at Detroit (3-game sweep).
· Programming Note — Today’s game against the Braves will be telecast exclusively on Roku…the game will also be broadcast live on 770 AM KTTH…fans can stream the game for free on The Roku Channel app or at therokuchannel.com.
· Today Wins The Series — Seattle is 12–7 in series rubber matches this season.
· Robles Has Returned — Outfielder Victor Robles returned to the active roster last night…Robles went 1-for-4 with a double and walk…Seattle is 4–0 over Robles’ last 4 games played.
· Rehab Update — Right-handed pitcher Gregory Santos (right knee injury) pitched for Triple-A Tacoma last night…he tossed a scoreless frame with 1 strikeout and 1 walk on 22 pitches (12 strikes).
JULIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…Julio Rodríguez went 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored, 2 home runs and 4 RBI, hitting his 29th and 30th homers of the season…it was his seventh career multi-homer game and his third this season (others: 7/25 at LAA, 8/9 vs. TB)…over his last 49 games (7/11-c), Julio is batting .305 (61×200) with 38 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 19 home runs, 42 RBI, 9 stolen bases and 10 walks, reaching base at a .347 clip and slugging .645 for a .992 OPS…during that span (min. 200 PA), Julio leads the Majors in slugging percentage and total bases (129)…he also ranks T-4th in hits, 2nd in home runs behind Kyle Schwarber-PHI (20), T-4th in RBI, T-10th in stolen bases and 4th in OPS…Rodríguez has tallied 22 multi-hit games since July 11, most in the big leagues during that stretch.
52 PICK-UP…Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 52nd home run last night…it also marked HR #42 as a catcher this season, tying Javy López (42 HR as a catcher for the 2003 Braves) for the most HR in a single season while catching…the next home run milestone that could be in Cal’s near-future is breaking the tie with López for most as a catcher in a season…after that, Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle’s 54 home runs for the 1961 Yankees, which stands as the record for most home runs by a switch-hitter in a season, could be within reach for Raleigh.
UPCOMING HOMESTAND…the Mariners return home tomorrow for their penultimate regular season homestand, hosting the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 9/8–9/10) and the Los Angeles Angels (4 G, 9/11–9/14)…highlights on the homestand include Logan Gilbert POP! Collectible 3-day Giveaway from Sept. 8–10, Mariners Value Game on Sept. 11 (tickets start at $11), Hispanic Heritage Night on Sept. 12, Fan Appreciation Night on Sept. 13, and more…more information can be found at Mariners.com/Tickets.
POSTSEASON PICTURE…the Mariners are currently in Postseason position with 20 regular season games remaining, holding the third and final AL Wild Card spot and standing 1.0 game ahead of next-closest Kansas City…Seattle also sits 3.5 games behind Houston for the AL West Division lead.
#44…Julio Rodríguez, who wears #44, is the 44th player in MLB history to register multiple 30+ homer seasons (2023, ’25) at age 24-or-younger…Julio is 1 of 7 center fielders to do it (min. 50% of games at center field), joining Joe DiMaggio (3x, 1937–39), Willie Mays (2x, 1954–55), Mickey Mantle (1955–56), Ken Griffey Jr. (2x, 1993–94), Andruw Jones (3x, 1998, 2000–01) and Mike Trout (3x, 2012, ‘14–15).
110/110…Julio Rodríguez has 110 career home runs and 110 career stolen bases, the only player in MLB history with 110+ homers and 110+ steals through a player’s first 4 career seasons…in fact, Julio is 1 of 4 in MLB history to go 100/100 over a player’s first 4 seasons, along with Bobby Bonds (100 HR, 135 SB) from 1968–71, Darryl Strawberry (108 HR, 100 SB) from 1983–86 and Bobby Witt Jr. (103 HR, 144 SB and counting) from 2022-this season.
RANDY AND JULIO: POWER & SPEED…Randy Arozarena (26 HR, 27 SB) and Julio Rodríguez (30 HR, 24 SB) are closing in on becoming the first pair of Mariners teammates with 25+ HR and 25+ SB in the same season…if both players reach the 30 HR and 30 SB marks, they will be the third pair of teammates with 30/30 seasons in the same season, joining the 1987 Mets (Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry) and 1996 Rockies (Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks).
FIVE HOME RUNS…Seattle tied a season-high 5 home runs in last night’s 10–2 win…Julio Rodríguez hit 2 homers, with Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez each contributing one…Seattle also hit 5 homers on June 22 at the Cubs and July 13 at the Tigers this season.
EDUARD SWORD-HANDS…right-handed reliever Eduard Bazardo tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout last night…in 64 relief appearances this season, Bazardo is 5–0 with a 2.57 ERA (20 ER, 70.0 IP) with 70 strikeouts and 26 walks, holding opponents to a .187 batting average with a 1.03 WHIP.