SEATTLE -- There’s not many scenarios in which you would intentionally walk a batter in order to face three-time All-Star Julio Rodríguez. Surely the Tigers will rethink that strategy next time.
And it’s quite possible, considering just how far Rodríguez heaved his bat towards the home dugout while giving out a tumultuous roar after belting a timely opposite-field three-run blast in the Mariners' emotional 4-2 win over the Tigers, he might have felt some disrespect.
But according to Seattle’s everyday centerfielder, it was important for him to stay composed leading up to the at-bat.
“Being honest, I had no emotion about it,” Rodríguez said. “If I start getting emotional about it, I feel like I put it right into their hands. I try to stay focused and just try to get my pitch and execute.
“I feel like that’s what I did, and once I beat that, I definitely let some things out.”
In this case, “let some things out” meant an emotional bat flip and shout after sending a first pitch sinker in the lower-outside zone a Statcast-projected 366 feet into the right-field stands.
Has he hurled his bat like that before in his career?
“Maybe at some point," Rodriguez said with a grin.
But Randy Arozarena, who made two fantastic defensive plays in left field in the fourth, set up the inning after ripping a two-out double down the left field off Brenan Hanifee. Detroit opted to walk lefty Dominic Canzone, which set up Rodríguez’s emphatic swing to break a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Mariners.
“Whatever it was, you know, who am I to judge any decisions that are made?” manager Dan Wilson said. “The key there was that Julio put up a really good at-bat on that first pitch.”
Sure, Rodríguez isn’t having his best statistical season, entering Wednesday slashing .255/.318/.413, but he does have a knack for a second-half surge after the Trade Deadline.
It was a much-needed swing for the Mariners for plenty of reasons. But surely, they didn’t want to spoil another dominant outing at T-Mobile Park for Bryan Woo.
He provided quite the bounceback after a troubling July. In four starts last month, he went 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in 21 innings. Three of those starts were on the road, including his last against the Dodgers, when he yielded five runs in five innings, but struck out eight.
Woo’s home vs. road splits have been a common theme all season -- and they are quite glaring.
On the road, he’s 1-8 with a 6.71 ERA and opponents carrying a .300 batting average. In 10 starts at T-Mobile Park, he's 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA, holding batters to a .164 batting average. Over his last seven starts at home he’s been nearly perfect, with a 0.79 ERA over 45 1/3 innings.
“I feel like my count command was much, much better,” Woo said. “That was a big focus for the night. Just getting back to some of the simple things.”
In seven innings against the Tigers, he allowed no runs on five hits and one walk and struck out five. He did hit three batters for the second time in his career.
The Tigers hit a few deep balls off Woo, but Seattle’s defense was impenetrable. After Arozerana tossed out Gleyber Torres at third on a Dillon Dingler single in the fourth, he followed with a leaping dive at the wall on Colt Keith’s 342-foot flyout that saved a run -- or more.
“How many runs it saved and just the timing of it, that was awesome,” Woo said.
In the eighth inning, Gabe Speier and manager Dan Wilson were tossed from the game after Speier hit Gleyber Torres -- the fifth hit batter of the night. Eduard Bazardo entered with two outs and surrendered a two-run homer to Dingler to cut the Mariners’ lead to 3-2, but Colt Emerson provided insurance in the bottom half of the inning with a solo homer and Andrés Muñoz finished the ninth for his 20th save.