J-Rod rejoins Mariners lineup that's humming along

SEATTLE -- Julio Rodríguez was 3 years old the last time ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” came to Seattle.

He wasn’t going to miss the event’s return to T-Mobile Park.

Rodríguez, who had been out with a right ankle sprain since July 21, passed one last test of his ankle and was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Sunday. He was immediately thrust into the Mariners’ starting lineup for their finale against the Mets, batting cleanup as the designated hitter in the team's 12-1 victory. The offensive outburst helped the Mariners complete a three-game sweep and offset Rodríguez's 0-for-5 performance that included a strikeout in each at-bat.

"It was good to get Julio back in there," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I know it wasn’t a great day for him, but you’ve got to start somewhere, you’ve got to get back in there. He’ll be just fine. He’ll pick up the timing, and he’ll be good for us on this road trip."

To free a spot on the active roster, the Mariners optioned second baseman Ryan Bliss to Triple-A Tacoma.

Rodríguez nearly had his season end on one play in the Mariners’ July 21 win over the Astros, jumping feet-first into the wall to try to track down a Yordan Alvarez fly ball. His right cleat caught in the padding, making his landing awkward and forcing the trainer and Servais to come sprinting out to check on him.

Rodríguez walked off the field under his own power, and all of the following X-rays came back negative. But three days later, general manager Justin Hollander said the ankle “didn’t respond the way we had hoped” in the following days, leading the medical staff to suggest an IL stint to rest. That stint, which Servais hoped at its onset could last the minimum 10 days, turned out to be three weeks.

Seattle’s 23-year-old star hit .375 with a 1.122 OPS, four home runs and eight RBIs in 15 games in July before the injury.

optioned second baseman Ryan Bliss to Triple-A Tacoma.

Rodríguez nearly had his season end on one play in the Mariners’ July 21 win over the Astros, jumping feet-first into the wall to try to track down a Yordan Alvarez fly ball. His right cleat caught in the padding, making his landing awkward and forcing the trainer and Servais to come sprinting out to check on him.

Rodríguez walked off the field under his own power, and all of the following X-rays came back negative. But three days later, general manager Justin Hollander said the ankle “didn’t respond the way we had hoped” in the following days, leading the medical staff to suggest an IL stint to rest. That stint, which Servais hoped at its onset could last the minimum 10 days, turned out to be three weeks.

Seattle’s 23-year-old star hit .375 with a 1.122 OPS, four home runs and eight RBIs in 15 games in July before the injury.

On the Mariners’ current homestand, Rodríguez began jogging the bases and taking batting practice before nearly every game. On Saturday, his pregame work on the outfield warning track hit an unexpected rough patch when -- facing toward the wall -- a teammate’s liner hit him in the back. But after a brief and very tense delay on the field, Rodríguez got back to running and eventually took his own cuts in the cage, no worse for wear.

When Rodríguez first went on the IL, he told reporters that the final benchmark in his recovery would be making sharp cuts from side to side. It’s clear he’s not there yet, but serving as DH -- and probably promising to be a little more conservative on the basepaths -- got him on the field and back in the lineup sooner.

Servais said the plan was to take things day by day, so the coaching staff didn’t have a set timeline for building Rodríguez back up to full speed. The Mariners will have an off-day on Monday before opening up a nine-game road trip that will take them from Detroit to Pittsburgh and then back across the country to Los Angeles.

“The big thing is that we have to wait and see how he feels through the game today, coming out of the game today,” Servais said. “Just see how he feels, and the medical staff and he will let me know when he’s capable, hopefully, of getting back in the outfield as soon as possible. “

That will be yet another boost to an offense that has gotten a few in recent weeks. Going into the game he got hurt, Rodríguez was the only Mariners player with at least 10 appearances in July who was hitting over .260. But since then, Victor Robles has turned into a key piece in center in Rodríguez’s absence. The Mariners went out and added bats in Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner at the Trade Deadline. And Cal Raleigh is still going through a summer power surge, currently sitting on 24 home runs to lead all catchers.

Those four have turned into a new-look top of the Seattle lineup as the Mariners find themselves in a neck-and-neck battle with the Astros atop the AL West standings.

Now, the Mariners add one more piece to that puzzle.