SEATTLE – It was starting to look like the first series of the season would be one Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez would like to forget, but that’s no longer the case after a mammoth, go-ahead blast.
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Rodríguez took A’s left-handed starter JP Sears deep on a hanging first-pitch slider for a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. The ball landed in the upper-deck in left field and traveled 438 feet with a 113.3 mph exit velocity, per Statcast.
The home run was the first in the month of March for Rodríguez, who’s just starting his fourth pro season. It came after a 1-for-11 start to the season that included six strikeouts.
Rodríguez’s homer was Seattle’s third hit of the day and plated leadoff man Victor Robles, who reached on an infield single up the middle – his second hit of the day.
The 113.3 mph exit velocity made Rodríguez’s blast the hardest-hit ball by a Mariner so far, edging Randy Arozarena’s 112.3 mph solo home run that tied the game in the eighth inning during the season opener on Thursday.
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