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Julio Rodriguez is Closing in on Even More Seattle Mariners History
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) celebrates after hitting a double against Cleveland Guardians during the third inning at T-Mobile Park on July 13. Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Saturday night, thanks to a walk-off single from Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Seattle is now 35-34, 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West.

It was a big night for Polanco, and it was also a big night for J.P. Crawford, who went 3-for-3 with two walks, raising his average to .295 for the season.

Furthermore, Julio Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a stolen base, giving him 98 for his career.

Per the @MarinersPR team:

  • His 98 career stolen bases are 10th most in Mariners history, trailing Henry Cotto whose 102 stolen bases are 9th most in franchise history.

One of the most athletic players in the league, Rodriguez is hitting .263 with a .324 on-base percentage. He has 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 12 stolen bases while posting a .747 OPS. A two-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger, Rodriguez is putting himself in position to potentially make a third All-Star Game.

Jackson Kowar earned the win in relief for Seattle, as he tossed a scoreless top of the ninth inning. George Kirby gave up two earned runs over five innings. Cal Raleigh had an RBI, while Polanco also hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run in the first inning.

The Mariners will go for the sweep of the Guardians on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:10 p.m. PT. The M's will send right-hander Emerson Hancock to the mound against Luis Ortiz. Hancock is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA and Ortiz is 3-7 with a 4.26 ERA.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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