August 28, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) heads back to the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports The Seattle Mariners will meet the Los Angeles Angels to start a three-game weekend series on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif., hoping they get a version of outfielder Julio Rodriguez who was an All-Star in two major league seasons.
Rodriguez had a tough season compared to 2024, but some think his bat will come alive in the final months of the regular season as the Mariners make a playoff push.
In his first two seasons, Rodriguez averaged 30 homers, 89 RBI and 31 stolen bases with a .279 average and .834 OPS. But entering the game there he hit .253 with 12 homers, 42 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a .670 OPS.
He missed 16 games from July 22 to August 10 with a high ankle sprain and struggled in his return. But Wednesday’s home run against the Tampa Bay Rays — his first homer since July 20 — gave him confidence that the mechanical adjustments he made would make a difference.
“After you work on something and then you see it play out in the game, it makes you feel very good,” Rodriguez, 23, said, “because it shows that you are kind of on the right track. And only This is the motivation to continue working.”
Also a potential difference-maker is the hiring of Mariners legend Edgar Martinez, a career .312 hitter, as the club’s hit coach last week.
“It helped a lot,” Rodriguez said of Martinez. “I feel like he’s got a lot of experience as a hitter. Obviously, like one of the best that we can do – Hall of Famer and everything. He’s a guy that I respect. And I’m glad that, obviously, I’m listening, but I’m glad that he’s around.”
Right-hander George Kirby (9-10, 3.48 ERA), who will make his 28th start of the season Friday for Seattle, went 4-3 against the San Francisco Giants in his most recent start, allowing three runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings there is the end. He is 3-4 with a 3.07 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels, who ended a seven-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
While the Mariners are still in the hunt for a playoff spot — they’re four games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West — the Angels aren’t there and give plenty of prospects to play for. That includes lefty Sam Aldegheri, who will join the Angels from Double-A Rocket City and become the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to play in the majors on Friday.
The Angels acquired Aldegheri, 22, as part of last month’s trade-deadline deal that sent reliever Carlos Estevez to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Another youngster to get a look from the Angels is first baseman/DH Niko Kavadas, who was part of a July trade with the Boston Red Sox for reliever Luis Garcia.
Kavadas, 25, hit .264 with 19 homers, 67 RBIs and .921 OPS split time between Triple-A Worcester (Red Sox) and Salt Lake (Angels), but has struggled since being called up on August 16. He hit. 100 (3-for-30) with 17 strikeouts in 10 games.
His first major league hit was a three-run homer against the Toronto Blue Jays last Thursday, but it came in the ninth inning, and by the time the Blue Jays personnel managed to get into the left field seats, the fan who got the ball had already left the ballpark. Kavadas had planned to give the ball from the first hit to his father, Jim.
“I thought he would be very disappointed,” Kavadas said of his father. “And he said, ‘I don’t care about the ball. It was an epic moment, and I’m so happy for you.’
But the next day, the fan who caught the ball contacted the Blue Jays and wanted to give the ball to Kavadas, who has now taken it.
“They’re people who get it, who know what to do and what the ball means to me and my family,” Kavadas said of the fans. “That’s awesome.”
–Field Level Media
