Seattle Mariners Superstar Julio Rodriguez Among Elite Group of Hitters
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The Seattle Mariners best offensive performance of the season didn't result in a win. The Mariners lost 10-9 to the San Francisco Giants in 11 innings in the first road game of the season Friday.
Despite the loss, several players had multi-hit games. One of those hitters was Seattle's franchise superstar Julio Rodriguez.
Rodriguez went 3-for-6 with three runs, a steal and an RBI. His RBI came via an opposite-field home run that cleared Oracle Park and landed in McCovey Cove. According to pregame notes shared by Mariners PR, Rodriguez's opposite-field home run Friday was the 22nd of his career since debuting in 2022.
.@JRODshow44 goes oppo in the first! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/aBia0atj8c
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 4, 2025
According to the notes shared by Mariners PR, that number ties Rodriguez for the fifth-most opposite field home run over the last three seasons. The four players ahead of Rodriguez is defending American League MVP Aaron Judge (New York Yankees, 42 home runs), Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees, 25), Gleyber Torres (Detroit Tigers/Yankees, 24) and Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox, 23). Rodriguez is tied with Adolis Garica, who plays for Seattle's American League West rivals, the Texas Rangers.
Entering Saturday, Rodriguez is hitting .250 (7-for-28) with six runs, a triple, two home runs, four RBIs and three steals. He has an on-base percentage of .417 and an OPS of .953.
Rodriguez is currently in the middle of his fourth major league season. He's been plagued with slow starts each of the last three years. He received the most plate appearances of his career in spring training in efforts of avoiding that same start this season.
It's only eight games into the season. But if Rodriguez is able to heat up earlier this year than he has since he debuted, 2025 could be his best year yet.
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