Jays SS Bichette Scratched With Forearm Bruise
SEATTLE -- — Julio Rodríguez homered for the first time since June 15 and doubled, J.P. Crawford lined a tiebreaking three-run double, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.
“It definitely felt great. Sometimes you got to go through tough stretches to wake up," Rodríguez said.
Seattle’s slumping offense broke out in a big way and it was the Mariners' best player leading the charge. Mired in a slump at the plate, Rodríguez hit an 0-2 pitch from Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes an estimated 428 feet to center field in the fifth inning for his eighth homer to pull Seattle to 2-1.
Two innings later, Rodríguez keyed Seattle’s five-run seventh inning with a line drive double off Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker. The Mariners eventually loaded the bases against Baker (1-1) and with two outs and Crawford cleared them after Keegan Akin fell behind in the count.
Crawford is hitting .636 with 37 RBI with the bases loaded over the past two seasons.
“In my opinion, what J.P. does is he puts the pressure on the guy on the mound, he doesn't put that on himself. And you can see that," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “He has a great idea of the strike zone so he's not going to chase in those situations too often and when he lets the game come to him that's when it really works for him.”
Mitch Garver capped Seattle’s offensive burst with a two-run homer, his 11th of the season.
“Really poorly pitched seventh there,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said.
Rodríguez’s slump coincided with Seattle’s slide that has seen the Mariners' 10-game lead in the AL west dwindle to just two. In the previous 14 games, Rodríguez had zero RBI and zero extra-base hits.
Rodríguez appeared to jam his right thumb making a catch in center field in the sixth inning while fighting the sun but remained in the game.
“After I moved it around a little bit, it went away,” Rodríguez said.
Seattle starter Bryce Miller managed to keep Baltimore’s offense in check, apart from All-Star Gunnar Henderson. Henderson doubled to open the game – although he was thrown out trying to advance to third – and hit a two-run shot for his 27th homer of the season.
Miller worked into the sixth, allowing only two runs and struck out six. Mariners relievers Austin Voth, Ryne Stanek (6-2), Trent Thornton and Andrés Muñoz made only one mistake when Jordan Westburg hit his 14th home run in the eighth.
Burnes made his first start since returning from the paternity list following additions to his family after his wife gave birth to twin girls. Burnes gave up Crawford’s single to begin the bottom of the first, then retired 12 straight before Rodríguez’s home run.
Burnes finished his outing with a dominant sixth inning, and allowed four hits and struck out six.
“Threw a few more pitches than wanted to but for the most part was pretty pleased with it,” Burnes said. “Didn't spin the ball as well as I wanted to but that could be attributed to the layoff.”
ROSTER MOVE
Seattle claimed OF Duke Ellis off waivers from the New York Mets and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma. Ellis has 34 stolen bases in 43 minor league games this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: RHP Bryan Woo (hamstring) is expected to make a rehab start at Single-A Everett sometime this weekend. He could be joined by RHP Gregory Santos as he moves closer to rejoining the Mariners.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Albert Suarez (4-2, 2.43) will take the mound to open a three-game series in Oakland against the A’s.
Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (6-9, 3.87) will start the opener of a three-game series against Toronto on Friday.
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
GMT 1222 21386 80566.1675596824.386.513 ?c=2Depositphotos 30086615 S 2019 Xmapt2024nfpagewide .pagespeed.ic.hH9l7k9i5T S L1600 43999398158e2e544d75a08b8cf41d7a8025cd2e 2 690x448 Globe 2 980cbe68 Fcc7 41ab Ad46 6a01d9ccd97a ?auto=format&fit=crop&frame=1&h=512&w=1024XhHapVplAM0 Map360 2024 New Release 1024x504 968903fc 29c0 4dd6 A41b 2e56dd37c216 ?auto=format&fit=crop&frame=1&h=512&w=1024Maxresdefault Australian Proptech Map 2023 V4 05222023 1086x1536 C07ee315ab43c34035f138a6b08db6ec X3rdbest .pagespeed.ic.UDI51 Ycdi Embedded Vision Summit 2023 Map B0f94f328fe989243fa0cd816435152e ImageCPU032023 Maxresdefault Maxresdefault 4a5340a0dbd72de6e412c27ac975f43d A69eee3392c2e56ad909fd6409b36960 Magic Kingdom Map 2020 1024x497 1*twOQLcG4dGpMn3TnNPhGHw Screen Shot 2017 08 23 At 11.54.54 AM T800 ?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077dMap Update Blog Page 1200x800 Latest 2023 A14 Navigation Card GM5T 19H449 AH Maps Card For GPS Map Update Sync USA Canada Maps SYNC Navigation System Cec2af48 Bcbe 45fb 8fb3 6b92957504c1.058dfe076dd17ccd1fa456ceb6124f4e 9f15fd4fdb037c23d98047faba25d1c98eb1a1e1 1c9994e2f2433b0dfc27273a73fadea8 600x380 5801a2859e6ff9e60325439bbdb66f4b 477420047 16010f2d74fb2642cf13cd8d85cd4fcd11dcbbed6ebdefddf0881f133f70212d D 640?f=webpB0b9e2fb323ef10c5db366e92e375f1c 87051703d8375454872fee05e3cdfc05 8f594f2c661c852d12edb5069a263f88 Topo Maps Homescreen Layout 710x1536