The Seattle Mariners blanked reigning World Series winners Texas Rangers on Tuesday for an early advantage in the three-game series but the win meant a bit more to Mariners star Julio Rodriguez.
The 2022 Rookie of the Year was one of the eye-catching performers for the Mariners last season but failed to live up to his name in a troublesome start to the 2024 regular season.
Julio Rodriguez's two-run homer in the top of the third inning to give his team a 4-0 lead was his first home run of the season and his first regular-season homer since September 28, 2023.
The two-time All-Star had an emotional reaction to his first home run of 2024 as Rodriguez embraced the Mariners' renowned Trident.
"It was ‘long time, no see’ to my good friend,” Rodriguez said about his emotional embrace.
Much was anticipated of Julio Rodriguez at the start of the ongoing season as the Mariners star had a record-setting 2023 with the team. The hitting sensation reflected on the things that went wrong for him, contributing to his home run drought.
“Being able to get that good pitch and being able to drive it like how I know I can, it definitely felt really good,” Rodríguez said. “There've been a lot of mistakes that I've been just on them, but just fouling it off. But on that one, I definitely did not miss it.”
Julio Rodriguez finds himself in familiar territory after ending home run slump
Julio Rodriguez had to wait for 23 games to register his first home run of the season but the All-Star slugger who lost the MVP crown to Shohei Ohtani after finishing fourth in the AL MVP voting in 2023, is not too unfamiliar with this territory.
He faced a similar slump during his Rookie of the Year campaign for the Mariners as it took him 21 games to break his home run slump.
“A few little adjustments here and there, just kind of trending in the right direction and like finding the right things,” Rodríguez said. “And I felt more like myself today.”
The Mariners will hope their star slugger can push on after registering his first home run of the season his team's first victory over the Texas Rangers in nine games. The two sides will clash again on Wednesday at Globe Life Field for the second game of the series.
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