SEATTLE — They came to see. To see the potential, to see what’s next, to see what imagination, talent and pure, unfiltered joy can conjure today.
They came for Julio.
And he came through for them.
Julio Rodriguez, ever the showman, launched a go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh inning, answering the What Can’t This Kid Do? question for another day and lifting the Mariners to a 4-2 victory and a series sweep of the Texas Rangers.
The rookie phenom flipped his bat high in the air, circled the bases and drew a standing ovation from the 25,509 fans who turned out on a hot Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park. They chanted his name in the same rhythm they used to sing for Ichiro — Juu-leeee-oooooo — as the kid did things the Mariners haven’t seen since Ken Griffey Jr.
The home run, off Texas starter Jon Gray, was a 108.5 mph blast off the out-of-town scoreboard beyond the bullpen, 418 feet away for his 18th home run of the season and second in as many days since returning from a minor wrist injury.
Rodriguez homered in his first at-bat Tuesday night since participating in his first Home Run Derby last week.
Griffey was the only other player in M’s history to hit home runs in his first two games after participating in the Home Run Derby.
It’s something new every day with him, isn’t it?
Already Wednesday, Rodriguez had crashed into the wall in center field to haul in a running catch, then happily tossed the ball to the fans sitting in his “No Fly Zone” nearby.
Rodriguez’s home run made a winner of Marco Gonzales, who pitched seven solid innings on a day when the team needed just that. Gonzales allowed four hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Gray had been almost untouchable for much of the afternoon, his fastball hitting 99 mph much of the time. Sam Haggerty’s bloop double in the second inning scored J.P. Crawford for the Mariners’ only run up until the seventh inning.
The Mariners (54-45) have won eight in a row over the Rangers.
