After dealing with leg injury, J-Rod comes off the bench and delivers HR
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SEATTLE -- Whatever injury was leaving Julio Rodríguez out of the lineup can quickly be dismissed.
A 409-foot solo blast into center field will do just that.
The Mariners’ center fielder belted his 15th homer of the season in the eighth inning after entering the game with a surprise pinch-hit appearance in the sixth. His solo shot off Julian Garcia cut the deficit to one provided a leadoff spark, but Seattle ultimately fell 4-2 to the Reds on Tuesday.
Rodríguez replaced Luke Raley in the bottom of the sixth with left-handed reliever Sam Moll in the game for Cincinnati. The Reds countered the move with right-hander Tejay Antone. Rodríguez worked an eight-pitch at-bat drilling a hard grounder that was snagged by Elly De La Cruz, who got the force at second.
But, a couple of hard hit balls, including the 110.2 mph groundout, showed enough proof that Rodríguez is trending to full-strength.
“I think we knew prior to the game that he was good to go later in the game if needed,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said.
Rodríguez declined to speak to the media after the game.
The Mariners have avoided specifying what exactly his injury is, but after taking an 85.9 mph throw from De La Cruz off his left leg/hip area when legging out an RBI infield single Monday, he was seen grabbing the back of his left leg -- near where the ball hit him but more toward his hamstring -- shortly after being ruled safe. But he remained in the game for the ensuing at-bat.
With the combination of getting hit and reaching first base aggressively, Wilson decided to pull Rodríguez as a precautionary move during Monday’s game.
Rodríguez was just activated from the 7-day concussion IL on Saturday. And oddly enough, what put him on the IL was a concussion on July 2. He took a 78.2 mph throw from Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel that hit the center fielder directly in the back of the helmet on a double-play attempt.
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Rodríguez moved into his usual position into center field at the top of the seventh and Victor Robles, coming off a four-hit performance in Monday’s 8-0 win over Cincinnati, moved to right field.
“I thought he put a couple really good at bats and hit the ball hard,” Wilson said.
Third baseman J.P. Crawford was also out of the lineup for the second straight game. He was scratched two hours before first pitch on Monday due to wrist soreness, presumably his left wrist.
Crawford missed nine games in June after being hit by a pitch on his other hand. It was upon his return from that IL stint that he transitioned to third base.
“Again, day-to-day things, and we've been through this before and we'll continue to go through it,” Wilson said.
In Crawford’s place at third Tuesday was Weston Wilson, batting ninth. Wilson went 1-for-4 with his third home run of the season, and has now recorded an RBI in four straight games.