J-Rod’s history-making 100th RBI powers Mariners’ sweep

OAKLAND -- When Julio Rodríguez was struck on the left hand by a 93.2 mph four-seamer in the third inning of Wednesday afternoon's 6-3 Mariners win over the A's, the visiting fan section at the Coliseum seemed to hold its collective breath as the star center fielder was checked over by a trainer before ultimately remaining in the game.

Rodríguez quickly dispelled any fears that he might be seriously hurt by crushing a leadoff shot to right-center in the fifth inning, reaching the 100-RBI threshold for the first time in his career with his MLB-leading 11th opposite-field homer.

"It means that we definitely put a lot of team effort in that," said Rodríguez, who is the third player in franchise history to drive in 100 runs in his age-22 season or younger. "I didn't get 100 home runs. There were definitely guys on base, there were a lot of good at-bats and things like that.

"That's why it feels really good to … whenever the guys get on base, be able to drive them in and have a good at-bat. Just kind of keep doing the right thing, keep having a good approach."

• Games remaining (10): at TEX (3), vs. HOU (3), vs. TEX (4)
• Standings update: Since the Mariners (84-68) do not currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rangers (84-68), they remain behind Texas for the third AL Wild Card spot and trail the Astros (85-68) by a half-game for the AL West lead.
• Tiebreakers: Win vs. Houston (8-2); losing vs. Texas (1-5); likely win vs. Toronto (3-3, tiebreaker based on intradivision record).

Having already joined the 30-30 club, Rodríguez became just the third AL/NL player age 22 or younger to hit 30-plus homers, steal 30-plus bases and drive in 100-plus runs, joining Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2019 and Alex Rodriguez in 1998.

"I think you can put him on that list," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "This is a special young talent. We saw him mature in our own division. He obviously has lived up to the performance that he put out there last year.”

Rodríguez will get an X-ray on his left hand as a precaution, and manager Scott Servais said he expects Rodríguez to be in good shape for the huge weekend series against the Rangers at Globe Life Field.

"I congratulated him on his 100th RBI, and he said, 'You know, if I just would have cashed in on 50 percent of them in the first half, I'd probably have 150 right now,'" Servais said. "Julio's a realist, but good for him. He got it going in the right direction.

“He has been awesome for us, and we're going to need him … over the next 10 days and in the playoffs."

Seattle took care of business against Oakland, pulling off a three-game sweep to finish 12-1 (.923) against the A’s this season -- the highest winning percentage against a divisional opponent in franchise history.

Now, the de facto playoffs begin, as the Mariners have a key opportunity to take matters into their own hands in a historically close AL West race.

Entering September, the top three teams in the division were all within one game of the lead -- and with a week and a half remaining in the campaign, only a half-game separates first-place Houston from Texas and Seattle.

With so much on the line, there was no excuse for the Mariners to do anything but dominate against a rebuilding A's team that has lost 106 games, including seven in a row. And dominate they did, outscoring Oakland, 18-5, in the series.

Seattle secured the sweep with authority, thanks to George Kirby's seven innings of three-run ball and contributions from up and down the lineup.

Cal Raleigh went back-to-back with Rodríguez in the fifth, hitting his 29th round-tripper. Raleigh also smoked a ground-rule double in his first at-bat of the game to set the franchise record for extra-base hits (52) by a catcher, surpassing Mike Zunino's 50 in 2017.

The rest of Seattle's offense was supplied by Dominic Canzone, who smashed a two-run homer a Statcast-projected 448 feet into the second deck in right field en route to logging a career-high four RBIs.

"That was pretty far up. I had my binoculars on," said Rodríguez, forming goggles around his eyes with his hands.

As the season has progressed and the stakes have gotten higher, the Mariners' team identity hasn't changed from the fun-loving group that pushes each other to be better while remaining dedicated to competing at the highest level.

"It just makes it so much easier for us younger guys to be able to just trust in your abilities and not have too much on your plate," said Canzone, who had a yellow Teletubby costume locked and loaded at his locker for rookie dressup.

"The leaders on this team do an unbelievable job of just keeping it loose every day."

The Mariners will ride that dynamic as far as it takes them, through the regular season and perhaps beyond.