Outstanding player of the Seattle Mariners ascends in prestigious list of Dominican baseball history

The Seattle Mariners moved to 68-66 on the season with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.

The Mariners are now 3.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West race. They are 4.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race. The Mariners are trying to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.

Although the Mariners got some good pitching from Luis Castillo and a host of relievers on Wednesday, the real story was the Mariners’ surge in power. Seattle used home runs from all three of its outfielders (Victor Robles, Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena) in the win.

For Rodriguez, it was his 12th of the season and also put him in an impressive position among Dominican-born players in baseball history.

According to @StatsCentre on social media:

Most home runs by a Dominican-born player in his first 3 MLB career seasons:
114-Albert Pujols
81- Fernando Tatis Jr.
72- Julio Rodriguez (via a home run in the @Mariners’ 6-2 win over the Rays tonight)
71-Miguel Sano
69-Juan Soto
63- Rafael Devers
63-Christopher Morel

This has been a down year for Rodriguez as he has struggled to maintain consistency, but it’s impressive to be part of that company. Rodriguez also has 220 career RBIs and 80 stolen bases.

He was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger in each of his first two seasons, though he won’t be able to reach those marks this year.

He’s hitting .253 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs. He has 18 stolen bases and is still recovering from a sprained ankle suffered in late July. If the Mariners want to make the playoffs, they’ll need Rodriguez to start getting back into shape.

He had two hits and one walk on Wednesday, so perhaps his big moment is yet to come.

The Mariners will be back in action on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels. First pitch will be at 6:38 p.m. PT.

THE NEW PODCAST IS NOW AVAILABLE!:The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out, featuring Brady Farkas on how the Mariners are closing in on the Astros in the AL West race. What’s his goal for September? Plus, we examine recent comments from now-fired hitting coach Brant Brown, Julio Rodriguez’s approach at the plate, and our takeaways from the first few games of the Dan Wilson era. CLICK HERE:

JULY BREAKS THE DROUGHT: Julio Rodriguez finally hit a two-run homer again on Wednesday. CLICK HERE:

ARE DARK TIMES AHEAD? On Wednesday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times spoke on the “Marine Layer” podcast and painted a grim picture for the Mariners’ upcoming offseason. CLICK HERE:

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