Seattle Mariners Giving Franchise Superstar Rest For Game 2 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
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The Seattle Mariners will enter Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays 10-10. The Mariners will have to win two straight against the Blue Jays to win the series dropping Game 1 of the series 3-1 on Friday.
Seattle will be without its franchise superstar Julio Rodriguez for Game 2 of the series.
The Mariners opted to keep Rodriguez out of the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against Toronto. It will be the first day off for the two-time All-Star.
Round ✌️ in 🇨🇦. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/Ponbu1ahRe
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 19, 2025
Rodriguez has been the lead-off man for Seattle for most games since Victor Robles, who's normally in the role, was shelved with a left shoulder fracture.
Utility man Miles Mastrobuoni will fill in for Rodriguez as the lead-off hitter for Tuesday's game. He will play in right field and Luke Raley will move over to center field in place of Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is in the midst of the fourth slow start of his career in as many seasons in the big leagues. He's hitting .179 (14-for-78) with a triple, two doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and five steals. Rodriguez is hitting .158 (3-for-19) with one steal during that stretch. He had a season batting average of .210 after the first contest of his last five.
Rodriguez has been plagued with slow starts in every year of his major league career so far. Last year, he had the worst year of his career and dealt with an ankle sprain that kept him on the shelf for three weeks and out of the outfield for a month. He finished with a .273 average, 20 homers, 68 RBIs and 24 steals.
Rodriguez will have four more consecutive road games after Saturday to get back on track before the Mariners return home on April 25.
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