Seattle Mariners Standout Moves Up Prestigious List in Dominican Baseball History

Julio Rodriguez has cemented himself as one of the most accomplished players to ever come out of the Dominican Republic early on in his career.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) hits a two-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park on Aug 28. / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

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

The Mariners are now 3.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West race. They are 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the wild card race. The M's are trying to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.

While the Mariners got good pitching from Luis Castillo and a collection of relievers on Wednesday, the real story was the M's power surge. Seattle utilized home runs from all three outfielders (Victor Robles, Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena) in the win.

For Rodriguez, it was his 12th of the season. It also moved him up an impressive list among Dominican-born players in baseball history.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Most home runs by a Dominican-born player within their first 3 career MLB seasons:
114- Albert Pujols
81- Fernando Tatis Jr.
72- Julio Rodriguez (Via a round tripper in tonight's 6-2 @Mariners win vs the Rays)
71- Miguel Sano
69- Juan Soto
63- Rafael Devers
63- Christopher Morel

Most home runs by a Dominican-born player within their first 3 career MLB seasons:
114- Albert Pujols
81- Fernando Tatis Jr.
72- Julio Rodriguez (Via a round tripper in tonight's 6-2 @Mariners win vs the Rays)
71- Miguel Sano
69- Juan Soto
63- Rafael Devers
63- Christopher Morel pic.twitter.com/UYQ4XVe9Dg

— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) August 29, 2024

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

He was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger in each of his first two seasons, though he will fail to hit those marks this year.

He's hitting .253 with 12 homers and 42 RBI. He has 18 stolen bases and continues to heal up from a high-ankle sprain suffered in late July. If the M's are going to make a run at the playoffs, they are going to need Rodriguez to start to get hot.

He did have two hits and one scorched out on Wednesday, so perhaps the breakout is coming.

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

RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the Mariners getting closer to the Astros in the AL West race. What is his goal by September? Furthermore, we examine the recent comments by now-fired hitting coach Brant Brown, the approach at the plate from Julio Rodriguez and our takeaways from the first few games of the Dan Wilson-era. CLICK HERE:

JULIO BREAKS DROUGHT: Julio Rodriguez finally went deep again, hitting a two-run blast on Wednesday. CLICK HERE:

BLEAK TIMES AHEAD? Speaking on the "Marine Layer" podcast on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times painted a dim picture for the M's offseason ahead. CLICK HERE:

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