Brady's Spin: Wednesday's Clutch Win Was Bigger For Julio Rodriguez Than Seattle Mariners
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The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 7-6 on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park. The win moved the Mariners to 5-8 on the season.
When the season is all said and done, it will likely end up as one of the most improbable victories for this team all year. Down 5-0 in the eighth inning, Seattle scored four times in the eighth to make it 5-4. They also came back from 6-4 in the ninth to win thanks to a two-run single by Julio Rodriguez and a walk-off walk from Randy Arozarena.
Julio Rodríguez drives in two and ties this game up in the 9th inning! pic.twitter.com/LMQmrD8k6r
— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025
The hope is that this comeback win propels the Mariners forward and gives them great momentum. While that could happen, it seems far more likely that this win was an outlier, just one of the many crazy things baseball throws at us over 162 games. I'm not really sure that much of anything the M's did against the Astros on Wednesday is transferrable to this weekend series with the Texas Rangers.
However, I do think there is one very big thing that could come out of it: Confidence in big moments for Rodriguez.
Entering that at-bat on Wednesday against ace reliever Bryan Abreu, Rodriguez was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position this season. The narrative has grown online that Rodriguez isn't clutch, and perhaps that can help him shatter it. To take an 0-2 pitch at 99 MPH the other way takes an excellent approach, excellent concentration and excellent execution. Rodriguez had all of those things.
The Mariners will need Rodriguez to produce in a big way moving forward, especially without Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss, who are facing long-term absences from serious injuries.
They'll play the Rangers at 6:40 p.m. PT on Friday. Bryce Miller starts against Jacob deGrom.
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NEW PODCAST IS OUT! Brady is back for another episode of "Refuse to Lose," where he discusses more about the win over the Astros and what this could mean for Julio Rodriguez. Furthermore, he talks about where the roster should go after injuries to Ryan Bliss and Victor Robles. We also have an exclusive chat with Cal Raleigh's father, Todd, about Cal's contract extension and we talk with Dr. Michael Fu, an orthopedic surgeon and shoulder expert, on what's up for Victor Robles. CLICK HERE:
JR AT AUGUSTA: Ken Griffey Jr., arguably the greatest player in M's history, is serving as a credentialed photographer for the Masters at Augusta National. CLICK HERE:
SNOW DELETES APOLOGY: After tweeting an insensitive comment about Victor Robles after his injury on Sunday and then deleting it, former Giants first baseman JT Snow apologized, and then deleted that too. CLICK HERE:
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