WATCH: Seattle's Victor Robles Makes Most of Rare Starting Opportunity
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners made the cautionary decision to keep star center fielder Julio Rodriguez out for the series rubber match against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Luke Raley moved over to center field on Saturday to replace Rodriguez when he was first pulled.
On Sunday, Victor Robles would be the one to fill in for Rodriguez at center field. He batted ninth in the lineup.
Robles signed a contract with Seattle on June 3 after the Washington Nationals designated the former top-10 prospect for assignment, and subsequently released him.
Robles has had limited opportunities with the Mariners in his one month with the club. He's appeared in 16 games and is batting .205 in 19 at-bats. He has two doubles, one RBI and one stolen base.
"The thing about Victor — he hasn't got a ton of chances to play," Seattle manager Scott Servais said in a pregame interview Sunday. "We haven't seen any left-handed pitching here recently and that's kind of what he's here to do, is to face the lefties."
Servais went on to praise Robles' high spirits, despite not seeing a lot of playing time.
"He may have one of the most upbeat, positive personalities out of anybody in our club house," Servais said Sunday. "And that's hard when you're not playing that much. He shows up every day, smile on his face. He's really worked on some things with his swing. ... He feels really good about, give him a chance today. And hopefully a little positive vibes, some good energy out there will help."
Turns out those happy vibes paid off in a big way. In his first at-bat in the bottom of the third, Robles hit a solo home run to left field to put the Mariners up 1-0. It was his first home run with Seattle.
Victor Robles hits his first homer as a Mariner! pic.twitter.com/2X2HWsOvwu
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 7, 2024
Sunday was Robles' first nod at center field for the Mariners. He had played exclusively left field in his limited chances before and had just one error in 19 total chances.
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