Mariners take Royals series thanks to the J-Rod show

Julio Rodriguez has a career day, as he leads the Mariners to a comeback 6-4 win which clinches the four-game series in Kansas City.

Going into Kansas City to face a Royals team with the second-worst record in the Majors should have theoretically been a walk in the (ball)park. Instead, the Mariners partook in one of the wildest and most unpredictably series they’re likely to encounter all season.

The four-game set had it all: crazy rallies, inexplicable bullpen meltdowns, unsung heroes, and so on. Fortunately — and crucially — however, the Mariners ultimately came out with their 10th series win out of their past 13.

Clinching the series was Julio Rodriguez, who has regularly been criticized for not being clutch enough during big moments late in games. For one day at least however, he was able to silence the critics.

J-Rod lights it up

Rodriguez was already raring to go ahead of the series finale. Just the night before he had produced the goods in a 6-5 win, going 4-for-6 and producing two RBI, a couple of steals and a run.

Even this would pale by comparison though, to what the two-time All-Star achieved on Thursday afternoon. The Royals, quite simply, had no answer for him.

When it was all said and done, Rodriguez had finished with a career-high five hits in five at-bats. He also tied another career-high, with five RBI.

In the end, the 22-year-old’s biggest hit was his final one. With the Mariners trailing 4-2 in the top of the eighth he crushed the first pitch he saw, to take a 5-4 lead which would not be relinquished.

For someone of Rodriguez’s talent and superstar potential, he was refreshingly humble when discussing the big hit postgame. He said:

“I was really proud and grateful that I was able to do that in that moment for the team.”

All kinds of records

The home run was the 20th of the year for Rodriguez, in the process making him the first player in Mariners history to hit 20 bombs in both of his first two seasons. He also now leads the team with 78 RBI, which is a new single-season high for him.

But there’s more. The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year is the first player this season to have nine combined hits in a two-game span, and the youngest since 1936.

Had enough yet? How about the fact his 12 total hits versus the Royals are the most in a series of any length by a player in Mariners history.

Manager Scott Servais summed up the feelings of everyone involved with the Mariners. He said:

“He’s such a special talent. When he gets rolling he can really carry a team, and I think we’re all real heavy on his back right now. Awesome game.”

For his part, Rodriguez is more focused on how well the team is playing as a whole. He said:

“This is a game of adjustments and how you put yourself in the best position to succeed. I feel like that’s something that we’ve been working on, and it’s definitely paid off.”

On the subject of adjustments, this is what Rodriguez recently went through with the Mariners’ hitting coach, to simplify his approach after struggling at the plate. He said:

“Basically, your eyes are a little more clear. … It feels like you did everything you could to put yourself in that position and just kind of trust it. Once you step to the plate, you’re trusting that you’re going to get the job done.”

Kirby does just enough

The 2022 Silver Slugger’s performance was as necessary as it was special. That’s because George Kirby had — at least by his lofty standards — what could be considered an off-day.

Kirby was having a decent enough game through five innings, allowing just the one run and entering the sixth tied 1-1. However, after being given a 2-1 lead through a Rodriguez RBI double, it all fell apart in the bottom half of the inning.

The Royals started having success versus the righty’s fastball, resulting in three runs and a 4-2 lead after six innings. Speaking later on, he said:

“I think I could have executed a little better today. If I didn’t throw any fastballs, I probably would’ve done really well. They hit fastballs really well. We had a good game plan, (but) that one inning just got away from me a little bit.”

That inning would also be Kirby’s last, despite having only thrown 73 pitches. As per seemingly usual he allowed no walks, but also only produced two strikeouts.

Again though, it should be stressed it was only a below-par performance by the 25-year-old’s high standards. Overall, he leads the Majors in fewest walks and strikeout-to-walk ratio, while also being second in WHIP.

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Kudos to Mariners bullpen

With Kirby out of the game, it was up to the beleaguered bullpen to step up. Unlike the past few games though, this time they slammed the door shut.

Isaiah Campbell, Trent Thornton and Matt Brash each pitched a scoreless inning, to keep the Mariners within reach. Also, for all the bullpen’s recent struggles, they are second in the Majors in team ERA , tied-eighth in batting average and tied-fifth for fewest walks.

The Mariners’ other RBI came courtesy of a Cal Raleigh solo blast in the top of the ninth. It also represented his team-leading 22nd home run of the season.

As much as it was a scrappy series, the Mariners did what was required to come through. As Servais said:

“We have not played clean baseball, but we’re finding a way to win games. … We need to tighten that up, there’s no question about it. But again, our offense — which hadn’t been the case all year — was able to overcome it.”

With the win, the Mariners improve to 66-55 on the season. They also pull to within 0.5 games of the Blue Jays for the final AL wild card spot.

Next up comes a crucial series in Houston, versus an Astros team 3.5 games ahead of them in the standings and in the second AL wild card position. Bryce Miller will get the nod for Friday night’s opener.

What was your main takeaway from the four-game set in Kansas City? And looking ahead, how do you predict the Mariners will do in their important weekend series versus the Astros? Let us know in the comments section below.