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Watch: Rodriguez's grand slam powers Mariners past White Sox 
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Watch: Julio Rodriguez's grand slam powers Mariners past White Sox 

One swing of the bat from Julio Rodriguez was all the Seattle Mariners needed to beat the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. The Mariners won, 5-1, as Rodriguez's grand slam proved to be more than enough to take down the worst team in the American League. 

Holding a 1-0 lead through seven innings thanks to a third-inning two-out RBI single by Jorge Polanco, the Mariners were struggling to get more runs on the board. That was until Rodriguez entered the batter's box with the bases loaded and only one out in the top of the eighth inning. 

Then, Rodriguez, who has experienced an up and down season, clobbered a pitch over the left field fence. Rodriguez's grand slam was his eighth home run of the year and put the game out of reach for a struggling Chicago team, who was coming off being swept by its crosstown-rival Cubs following a rare series win over Cincinnati a week ago.  

Rodriguez now has 25 RBI, granted he's hitting only .236 despite extending his hit streak to seven games. He also has a .412 slugging percentage through 46 games. 

Lost in the grand slam, Luis Castillo pitched a gem, allowing no runs and just three hits while striking out five batters in seven innings. Castillo earned his fourth win of the season to move his personal record to 4-3 as his ERA improved to 3.20.

Seattle moved its overall record to 27-19 as it sits in first place in the American League West.

The Mariners will look to take the series on Tuesday night when they take the field at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field at 7:40 pm ET.  

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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