Julio Rodriguez has entered the record books.
Rodriguez became the first player in major league history to open a career with four consecutive seasons of 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases when he went deep Sunday in a 5-4 victory against the Texas Rangers.
The Mariners, who took three of four games against their American League West rivals, will look to continue their bid for a playoff spot when they play host to the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series beginning Tuesday.
Rodriguez’s two-run homer in the third inning off Rangers ace Jacob deGrom also happened to be the 100th of his career.
“It’s awesome,” Rodriguez said of his history-making homer. “For a kid from Loma de Cabrera (Dominican Republic), that’s a very big accomplishment, and I know my family is very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking about all the things that we had to do to be able to get here.
“To be able to do it with this team and this organization is definitely awesome.”
With 100 homers and 107 stolen bases, Rodriguez is just the third player to accomplish that feat over his first four seasons. The others are Bobby Bonds (1968-71) and Darryl Strawberry (1983-86). He’s also the first Mariners player with four 20/20 seasons, surpassing Alex Rodriguez’s mark of three.
“His accomplishments at a very young age are pretty impressive,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Congratulations to Julio on that milestone.”
Perhaps nobody was more excited about Rodriguez’s homer than rookie right-hander Logan Evans, who earned the victory.
“(It’s) just like it is for a fan, amazing,” Evans said of watching Rodriguez play. “I mean, shoutout to him, obviously a great accomplishment, and that’s my guy. He’s super cool on the field and also off the field, and I’m just super happy for him. I know all the work he puts in to do that, so it’s pretty cool watching that live.”
Jorge Polanco and J.P. Crawford also homered for the Mariners, who maintained the AL’s third and final wild-card playoff spot and pulled within 2 1/2 games of Houston in the division race.
The White Sox are last in the AL Central at 42-70, but they’ve already exceeded their victory total from 2024, when they went 41-121. They surpassed that mark with a 1-0 victory Saturday against the host Los Angeles Angels before losing Sunday’s series finale 8-5.
Rookie Colson Montgomery homered and drove in four runs for the White Sox on Sunday. He has seven homers and 21 RBIs in 15 games since the All-Star break. The homers are tied for second-most in the majors in that span, and the RBIs are No. 1.
“He’s been outstanding,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of Montgomery. “He continues to take really good swings early in the count when he can do damage and later in the count, he’s still putting good swings on pitches.”
Tuesday’s series opener is scheduled to feature a pair of right-handers in the White Sox’s Davis Martin (3-8, 3.84 ERA) and the Mariners’ Bryan Woo (8-6, 3.11).
Martin beat visiting Philadelphia 6-2 on July 28, when he allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings and matched his season high with seven strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in two career appearances against the Mariners, including a 5-1 loss May 19 in Chicago despite allowing just two runs on four hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Woo has pitched at least six innings in all 21 of his starts this season. He suffered a 5-4 loss on Wednesday against the Athletics in Sacramento, Calif., when he allowed a career-high four homers.
In three previous starts against the White Sox, Woo has pitched to a 1.98 ERA without receiving a decision.
–Field Level Media
