J-Rod's 100th career HR gives him historic 4th straight 20-20 season

SEATTLE -- Julio Rodríguez needed just one swing Sunday afternoon to make history in multiple ways.

The 24-year-old star drove a center-cut slider from Jacob deGrom -- who one inning earlier had become the fastest pitcher to 1,800 career strikeouts -- out to right-center field in the third inning of Seattle’s 5-4 win over the Rangers, putting the Mariners ahead with his 100th career home run.

“That’s a very big accomplishment,” Rodríguez said. “I know my family’s very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking of all the things I had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is awesome. I’m just excited to see where things are going to go from here.”

The blast made Rodríguez -- who entered the day with 20 steals -- the first player in MLB history to begin his career with four consecutive 20/20 seasons and the first player to log four with the Mariners. He’s the third player to reach triple-digits in both home runs and steals in his first four seasons, joining Bobby Bonds and Darryl Strawberry.

He’s the 17th player to reach 100 career home runs with the Mariners and did so in 542 career games, making him the third-fastest in franchise history to triple-digits behind Cal Raleigh (482) and Alex Rodriguez (470).

“He’s just really swinging the bat well,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “His accomplishments at a very young age are pretty impressive.”

Nine of Rodríguez’s homers have come since July 11, giving the Mariners hopes of seeing another late-summer surge for their center fielder, who entered the day with a .251/.307/.429 slash line. Since becoming a Major Leaguer in 2022, Rodríguez has a .259 average and a .745 OPS between Opening Day and the end of July, but from Aug. 1 onward, those numbers jump to .309 and .915, respectively.

Rodríguez also made his standard impact on defense Sunday, going back to track down a 103.6 mph laser off the bat of Josh Smith at the wall in center field to help protect a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, he swiped his 21st base of the season after hitting a single through the left side to show off his complete toolbox.

The result gave the Mariners the win in their four-game set against the Rangers to push their AL Wild Card lead over Texas to two games, and moves them to within 2 1/2 of Houston in the AL West race.

It also capped a stretch of 17 games in 17 days coming out of the All-Star break which saw Seattle halve its deficit in the West, make a splash at the Deadline and come back to a re-energized home crowd before taking three of four in a crucial division series.

“We’ve got four games now under our belt with the new guys, and we’re still getting to a place where we’re starting to flow,” Wilson said. “It’s going to be a fun stretch.”

Rodríguez’s homer came after Jorge Polanco started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. It was followed by a two-run shot by J.P. Crawford, the second key homer by the Seattle shortstop in the series.

The Mariners finished the series -- which began with Wilson moving Randy Arozarena to the top of the order to be followed by Raleigh, Rodríguez and recent acquisitions Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez -- with 13 extra-base hits, including seven homers.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling knowing that this lineup is that deep,” said starter Logan Evans, who allowed three runs in five innings. “I don’t know the strategy by the other teams wanting to go homer-for-homer with our lineup, because it probably doesn’t go well for them.”

Behind Evans, the Mariners got another solid day from the bullpen, even without three of its top four arms available. Carlos Vargas worked around a home run, new southpaw Caleb Ferguson put down his third scoreless appearance in his fifth day with the club and Andrés Muñoz sealed things for his 25th save of the season with some help from Raleigh's caught-stealing behind the dish.

Now, the Mariners head into an off-day, with momentum seeming to stack every night.

“We haven’t seen what [we] can really do yet,” Wilson said. “It’s coming. It’s really close. That’s why I think this series, getting our feet on the ground and taking into next series is going to be big and get us some momentum.”