J-Rod (2 HRs), Woo (6+ innings) join elite company in Mariners' loss

ANAHEIM -- Julio Rodríguez stood in the hallway outside the away clubhouse at Angel Stadium, sipping on a protein shake on his way to the team bus. The Mariners had just lost 3-2 to the Angels in extra innings, but Rodríguez -- and his teammate Bryan Woo -- both etched themselves into Seattle history on Friday.

Rodríguez hit two homers on the day, the fifth multi-HR game of his career. In doing so, he joined Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez as the only Mariners with at least five multi-HR games at age 24 or younger. Griffey and A-Rod both had 14.

J-Rod’s eyes went wide for a second, almost as if the weight of those two names and their legacies hit him all at once.

“Those are guys that mark generations,” he said. “Generations of people and the game. To be in the same category with guys like that is honestly pretty cool. Ken Griffey’s an icon in Seattle, and Alex Rodriguez is one of my favorite players of all-time.

“It’s a pretty cool list, man.”

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Woo also put his name alongside another Seattle baseball giant as he pitched six-plus innings, tying Randy Johnson’s franchise record of at least six innings pitched in each of his first 20 starts of the season.

His reaction was different than Rodríguez’s. More businesslike. As if it was something that he expects of himself.

“It means a lot,” Woo said. “Consistency, I think is the biggest thing. It’s something that I take a lot of pride in. Every time I’m going out, giving a consistent outing, a consistent effort. The team knows what they’re gonna get out of me, and taking some of that stress off the bullpen.

“So, it’s all-encompassing. But all in all, just doing my job.”

For a second, it looked as if Woo’s streak was in jeopardy on Friday. He struggled through a 24-pitch first inning, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. He settled in after that, but his pitch count was up to 53 pitches through three innings.

Woo proceeded to retire the next nine batters he faced on just 33 pitches, making quick work of the Halos’ lineup and seemingly improving as the game went on. The difference was a bit of a slight mechanical adjustment, but mostly a shift back into a more aggressive mentality on the mound.

“Just getting ahead, being aggressive, trying not to be too fine,” he said. “Getting some quicker at-bats as the game went on helped a lot. … Just going right at them and not worrying so much about strikeouts.”

Woo depended on his fastball as the night wore on, throwing it 55% of the time. It was reliable for him as his velo sat at 96.5 mph, up almost a full mph from his season average. The four-seamer was also responsible for over half of his 12 whiffs on Friday.

“I think he just settled into the rhythm,” manager Dan Wilson said. “They were able to get some pitches on him early that found some plate. But after that, able to really find his fastball. I thought late in the ballgame, even, he still had a really, really good fastball, still had great stuff going. Looked very strong, even to the end.”

Rodríguez helped Woo out on offense by picking up right where he left off from Thursday, opening Friday’s contest by driving a sinker just below the zone to almost the exact same spot in right field as the one he had the previous night for a solo home run.

Five innings later, he did it again. This time Rodríguez crushed a slider left hanging over the middle to left field, the ball clearing the bullpens to tie the game at two runs apiece.

“Incredibly talented player,” Wilson said. “He continues to let that talent shine and [is] just really seeing the ball well right now. A couple homers off a tough opponent tonight in [José] Soriano. I just thought he was really on each pitch and seeing the ball well. And when he got his pitch, he was able to drive it.”

It was Rodríguez’s third home run of the series, adding to his staggering career numbers in Anaheim: a .369 average, a 1.197 OPS and 11 home runs.

“It’s probably the weather here in California, I don’t know,” he joked. “... I would say it was a continuation from yesterday. Staying within myself and trying to put short contact straight into the ball. Just kind of let things happen.”