By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez, and Carlos Santana all made sure that they were not going to be shutout by the Padres for the second game in a row. On Hispanic Heritage Day at T-Mobile Park, the day before Hispanic Heritage month begins, those three all homered to help Seattle cruise to a 6-1 win over San Diego. Starter Luis Castillo was rock solid, like his nickname “La Piedra,” throwing six shutout innings. The victory is Seattle’s 80th of the year, as the Mariners post a 4-4 record over the course of their tough past homestand. The Mariners will now head on their final road trip of the season, before a huge last homestand before their first potential postseason appearance in two decades.
Before first pitch, players from both teams held up flags of their respective native countries on "Hispanic Heritage Day" (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
Castillo cuts up the Friars
Luis Castillo, acquired in a bounty trade with the Cincinnati Reds this past trade deadline, has been as promised in about all but one start. Even in that rocky start, Castillo begin the game with an American league record seven consecutive strikeouts. The starter continues to be as by the book as you can get for an ace, and that was proven once again in this game. With incredible stuff and pin point control, LA Piedra continues to draw excitement when it’s his day to take the bump.
Castillo threw six scoreless innings, holding the talented Padres lineup to only four hits, one walk that actually wasn’t properly called, and nine strikeouts. In the quality start, Luis did face a few jams with two runners on, but was able to navigate out of the difficult areas to keep San Diego scoreless. With the great run support given to him in just the first inning, it was a good set up for Castillo to succeed.
Luis Castillo dealt six innings of shutout ball in his start (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
Julio Rodriguez etches his name in more history.
By this point, it should be no surprise whenever superstar center fielder Julio Rodriguez sets a new record or hits a new mark. The 21-year-old out of the Dominican Republic become the first ever first year rookie to hit the 25-home run/25 stolen base mark, and the third rookie ever to hit that mark. While Chris Young with the Diamondbacks and Mike Trout with the Angels both achieved the marks in their “rookie years,” the two debuted a year before then. Julio bests them both, achieving the history in just his debut season.
Julio is as special as it gets. His lead-off homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning set the tone for the game, as teammates Eugenio Suarez and Carlos Santana both hit big homers as the game progressed. In the bottom of the fifth, Julio snagged second base to put him in the 25/25 club, creating more history and earning himself a long-standing ovation from the T-Mobile Park crowd. Get on the Julio and Mariners bandwagon NOW if you already haven’t. You will be hearing his name for a very, very long time.
Julio Rodriguez celebrates his lead off homer as he rounds first (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
Quick notes
Eugenio Suarez has the most homers since August 1st, tied with Yankees star Aaron Judge at 15.
Seattle’s starting rotation (Consisting of Robbie Ray, George Kirby, Marco Gonzales, Logan Gilbert, and Luis Castillo) has a 1.68 ERA over their past 20 games. This sets a franchise record, which surpasses the 1.69 ERA mark over 20 starts by the 2001 club.
Julio Rodriguez has been the fastest player in MLB history to reach the following home run/stolen base accolades: 25/25, 15/20, and second fastest to 20/20.
This win being the 80th on the season means that Seattle now has their 15th 80-win season in franchise history.
This win gives Seattle their 62nd over San Diego, and the all-time record between the Mariners and Padres is now 62-61.
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez continues to mash (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
What’s next?
Seattle gets a day off before embarking on a long road trip, their final adventure away from home on the regular season. The Mariners will now head to California for four games against the Angels, three against Oakland, before heading to take on the Royals in Kansas City for three. The first game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim takes place on September 16th, Friday, with a first pitch time of 6:38PM PST, as Robbie Ray faces off against Michael Lorenzen.
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