Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez Does Something He's Never Done Before on Monday Night

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night but Julio Rodriguez finally got the "not clutch" stigma off his back.

The Seattle Mariners suffered a devastating loss on Monday night to the Kansas City Royals, falling 7-6 on a walk-off bunt single. 

The Mariners, who previously lost two extra-inning games in a row against the Baltimore Orioles, have now dropped three straight and trail in the American League wild card race by 2.0 games.

Monday's game was absolutely wild, also. The M's trailed 5-0 at one point and were being no-hit into the seventh inning. Then? They scored four runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to take the lead before ultimately falling.

The go-ahead run in the ninth inning for Seattle was driven in by Julio Rodriguez with a single. While Rodriguez is universally recognized as a great player and won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2022, there has been a faction of the M's fanbase that has identified him as "not clutch."

Well, that go-ahead hit could help change that narrative. That was his first go-ahead RBI hit in the ninth inning or later in his career.

That was the first go-ahead hit in the 9th inning (or later) of Julio's career, per @alexmayer34. https://t.co/aEXtNFCNWt

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) August 15, 2023

The 22-year-old is hitting .257 this season with a .319 on-base percentage. He's got 19 home runs and 71 RBI to go along with 28 stolen bases. He made the All-Star team for the second time this season.

The Mariners are now 63-55 on the season and they'll take on the Royals again on Tuesday night at 8:10 p.m. ET.

Rookie Emerson Hancock will pitch against veteran Jordan Lyles.

Hancock is 0-0 and will be making his second career start.

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