Julio Rodríguez hit a pair of homers and made a spectacular catch to carry the Mariners to a much-needed blowout victory.
The Mariners dominated Braves’ pitchers Saturday en route to a 10-2 win in Atlanta. The lineup picked up nine walks and 11 hits, including five homers and two doubles. The performance came as a sigh of relief. The Mariners entered the day having lost four straight and could have fallen out of a playoff position with another loss. They certainly seemed aware: vibes technician Mike
Cameron suited up and was in the dugout all game; Cal Raleigh switched to a mustache and high pants, as did several others; and the starting lineup did a pregame huddle on the field.
The lineup got off to a quick start. With one on in the first, Julio sat on an 0-2 splitter from Braves’ starter Hurston Waldrep and yanked it 422 feet into the second deck in left field for his 29th homer of the year. Waldrep entered the game throwing his splitter 72% of the time in two-strike counts, and Julio seemed to be expecting it
“I feel like the scouting report was out,” Rodríguez said with a chuckle, the Seattle Times reported after the game.
The lineup initially stalled from there. The Mariners picked up seven base runners in the third through sixth innings but couldn’t cash in.
Then came the seventh. Julio came up again with a runner on. He worked a nine pitch at bat (with a bit of help from a tight strike zone) before lazering a low fastball 441 feet to straightaway center. It was his second homer of the day and 30th on the season. Julio now has 19 homers and a .960 OPS since the All-Star game — the one in Atlanta that he sat out.
“That was probably the biggest, most important decision that I had to make,” Rodríguez told MLB.com after the game. “I feel I needed a reset. I needed the time for myself to be able to play my best, because that’s the most important thing — to play my best for the team. And I feel like that was huge for me to be able to do it.”
Things really opened up from there for the Mariners lineup. Eugenio Suárez followed in the seventh with his 43rd homer of the year. Jorge Polanco picked up a double, and J.P. Crawford singled to make it 6-2.
They kept at it in the eighth. Randy Arozarena leadoff with a hit by pitch, Julio singled for his third hit of the day, and Josh Naylor plated them both with a three-run homer.
In the ninth, Raleigh made it an even 10 runs with his 52nd homer of the year. Raleigh already held the record most homers in a season by a primary position catcher. But on Saturday he tied Javy López for most homers while actually behind the plate at 42. Raleigh remains two ahead of Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and three ahead Griffey in 1997 for the most in franchise history.
The Mariners finished the day with 11 hits, five homers, two doubles, nine walks and two hit by pitch — a combined .498 wOBA is their fourth best performance this season.
Victor Robles went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk in his first game since returning from suspension.
Jorge Polanco went 1-for-3 with two walks while picking up his 450th plate appearance on the season, triggering in his contract a player option for 2026.
Miller got the start for the Mariners. He was fine. He worked into the sixth allowing just two runs on five hits, and he flashed the “stuff” the Mariners have been hoping to see all season. He fooled Drake Baldwin badly with a nasty split in the first, and he simply overpowered Ronald Acuña Jr. with a top rail fastball in the second.
The Braves were mostly not fooled, however. They stung the ball all over the field and picked up nine hard hit balls and three barrels off Miller. The first of those barrels was tracked down on a miraculous running catch by Julio to end the second inning.
The second barrel was not so catchable. Matt Olson demolished a hanging splitter for a leadoff homer in the fourth inning. At 459 feet, it was as long as any homer he hit in the Home Run Derby in July. The next batter roped another barrel to Randy Arozarena in left, who got twisted around and handcuffed and dropped the ball for a two-base error. It looked like the wheels might come off, but Miller settled down and worked out of the inning without allowing another run.
In the sixth, Miller loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk before Dan Wilson turned to Gabe Speier. The game was still 2-1 at the time. Michael Harris II nearly gave the Braves a big lead with a deep shot into left-center, but Julio tracked it down at the wall to limit the damage to a game-tying sac fly. That’s all the Braves would get before the Mariners opened it up in the next half inning.
The Mariners still trail the Astros by 3 1/2 games in the AL West, but they maintained sole possession of the third wild card spot with Saturday’s win.
