Luke Raley Goes Viral For Impersonation of Julio Rodriguez After Awesome Catch

Luke Raley robbed a home run in left field for the Mariners on Tuesday in their win over the Houston Astros, and then he delivered a perfect impression of M's star Julio Rodriguez.

May 28, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners left fielder Luke Raley (20) catches a fly ball at the wall against the Houston Astros during the second inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros on Tuesday night, 4-2, to move to 30-26 on the season. And while most of the energy from pundits will be focused on the M's late-game rally, the defensive effort of outfielder Luke Raley should not be ignored.

Raley, acquired this offseason from Tampa Bay in a trade, robbed a home run off the bat from Jeremy Pena in the second inning.

In a game that was close and low-scoring, any run prevention is good run prevention, so this was an absolutely massive play. You can watch it below:

Home run robbery by Luke Raley ❌ pic.twitter.com/9cKdCqSt9w

— MLB (@MLB) May 29, 2024

And after the play, Raley delivered a viral moment for Mariners' fans as he flashed up the "No fly zone" celebration at fellow outfielder Julio Rodriguez. The celebration is something that Rodriguez has popularized over the two years that he's been patrolling center field in Seattle.

Popular M's "X" user @MarinerMuse caught a screengrab of Raley's impression and it's just perfect:

Raley did the No Fly Zone to Julio! https://t.co/d3AfTdpNW7 pic.twitter.com/L8xnpcrUpb

— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) May 29, 2024

The catch was Raley's biggest contribution of the night, as he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Despite the tough night, he's still having a solid first year in Seattle, hitting .266 while belting four homers and bringing in 12.

The 29-year-old hit 19 homers last season for Tampa and was acquired in a trade this offseason for infielder Jose Caballero.

The Mariners will take on the Astros again on Wednesday night having already captured the first two games of this series. George Kirby will pitch for Seattle while Justin Verlander will get the ball for Houston.

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