107.5 mph liner transforms into knuckleball, is somehow caught by J-Rod

SEATTLE -- It screamed to center field like a 107.5 mph knuckleball.

And as such, Julio Rodríguez had to dance back into position to make the play.

Monday night’s catch for the very first putout in the Mariners’ 6-4 loss to the Athletics was no ordinary snag, which is why Seattle’s star center fielder was left with a wide smile after gathering himself and throwing the ball in.

“I've gotten more athletic over the years,” Rodríguez said, “but I feel like I've always been athletic -- more than what people have ever credited me to.”

The scorcher off Nick Kurtz’s bat had such incredible backspin that it shifted from sailing to straightaway center and directly at Rodríguez, to instead slicing over his right side. That forced him to rapidly plant his cleats, lean back, leap against his weight and shove his glove in the opposite direction for any conceivable chance.

He timed it up perfectly, as he was completely midair when snagging the ball before tumbling back to the playing surface.

Then he sat on the field, legs sprawled, in almost his exact spot he started -- bringing the whole thing full-circle.

“When I saw the ball, it was like cutting this way, and then went that way,” Rodríguez said. “I just kind of went, 'Where'd the ball go?' That was the only thing that went through my head that I remember. Like, 'Where'd the ball go?' And then I saw that it knuckled this way, and that's when I just kind of made the catch.”

Rodríguez said that he’s rarely had knuckling liners come his way like this one. But the one that immediately came to mind was because it got by him and went for a triple. The batter probably played a part in why it’s still seared in his mind; it was Mike Trout, during Rodríguez’s rookie season in 2022.

“It's difficult because when it's knuckling, you don't really know what the ball is going to do,” Rodríguez said. “You don’t really know, because it started like it was pulled and then it went the other way. So it's always kind of like a wild card. But I just kind of tried to stay with it as long as I could just to be able to make the catch.

Beyond the acrobatics, the stakes of the play loomed large. Had the ball gotten by him -- even with his elite speed to track it down -- it was destined for the wall and at least a double if not a triple, just like Trout’s. But Emerson Hancock then retired each of the A’s next two batters to clear the inning unscathed.

Rodríguez kept the momentum rolling in the next half-inning, when ripping a 99.3 mph single, stealing second base and scoring on a down-the-line double from Josh Naylor.

That followed an opposite-field homer from Cal Raleigh that put the Mariners on the board. Dominic Canzone followed with a solo homer in the second to give the Mariners what looked like a commanding lead.

But Hancock surrendered three solo homers that tied the game -- including to Kurtz -- then Casey Legumina coughed up another three runs in a decisive eighth inning.

Rodríguez loves making the glovely plays, which is why he allowed himself to relish this one. Making the moment sweeter was that it was against Kurtz, a fellow American League Rookie of the Year Award winner who’s blossomed into one of the sport’s elite power hitters -- which Kurtz obviously showed later on Monday.

For all of his accomplishments, Rodríguez is still seeking his first Gold Glove Award.

And he’s pointedly stated that it’s an achievement that would mean a great deal to him. He was a finalist in 2023, but lost out to Toronto’s Kevin Kiermaier, and 2025, which went to Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela.

Since his debut, among center fielders, Rodríguez is tied for fourth with 37 outs above average, per Statcast, and he ranks 11th in fielding run value (31).

If this is the year he finally hoists the hardware, there’s a good chance that Monday’s highlight will be among the headliners that’s remembered most.