Julio Rodriguez Has Fun Message on Instagram For Teammates Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver
Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez issued fun statements on Instagram to teammates Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver on Friday.
Raleigh and Garver both hit two home runs as the Mariners beat the Cubs 9-4 at Wrigley Field, moving to 38-36 on the season.
For Raleigh, he now has 29 homers, which is the most in baseball. They also represent the most home runs ever hit by a catcher before the All-Star break, surpassing the 28 hit by Johnny Bench in 1970.
For Garver, the homers were the 99th and 100th of his career.
As for Rodriguez, he went 1-for-5 in the win, roping a single to right field. It's been an interesting year for Rodriguez, who is hitting a steady .253, but he's not hitting for much power. He has an OPS of just .718 and still has only 10 homers to this point. However, he's always been a second-half hitter, so there is still time for him to heat up.
The Mariners are in second place in the American League West, five games behind the Houston Astros, and they are also 0.5 games back of the third and final wild card spot.
They'll take on the Cubs again on Saturday morning with first pitch coming at 11:20 a.m. PT. Right-hander Emerson Hancock is going to toe the rubber for the Mariners while prospect Cade Horton pitches for Chicago.
Hancock is 3-2 with a 4.48 ERA and has been improving steadily throughout the year. Horton is 3-1 with a 3.47 ERA and has helped stabilize the rotation in the wake of injuries to Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga.
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NEW PODCAST IS OUT: Brady is back on a Friday, talking about his newfound anger at the M's for not going after Rafael Devers in a trade, and he wonders if the M's could trade Dominic Canzone soon. Furthermore, we discuss Julio Rodriguez's approach at the plate, and we talk with Hunt Palmer, LSU baseball insider, about possible M's draftee Kade Anderson. LISTEN HERE:
THE NEW FACE: According to veteran radio host Dave "Softy" Mahler, Cal Raleigh is the face of Seattle Sports. Do you agree? CLICK HERE:
CATCHING ATTENTION: Cal Raleigh is even drawing the attention of his former teammates for what he's doing this season. Recently, Mariners on SI had a chance to catch up with former M's infielder Jose Caballero. CLICK HERE:
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