Julio Rodriguez was in diapers in the Dominican Republic the last time the Seattle Mariners won a home postseason game.
Yet, the still-only-24-year-old All-Star outfielder can understand what the Emerald City has undergone amid its nearly two-and-a-half decade drought between playoff victories at the corner of 1st Avenue and Edgar Martinez Drive, which ended with the Mariners’ 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the ALDS on Sunday.
There was no better player than to drive in the game-winning run than Rodriguez, the face of the Mariners franchise who has been a member of the club for more than seven years since signing with the M’s as a teenager.
Yet, it is also fitting that Cal Raleigh was the man Rodriguez drove in with his eighth-inning RBI double, since the All-Star catcher is about the only Mariners player who has been there longer than J-Rod.
Cal Raleigh Starts Mariners’ Eighth Inning Rally
The Mariners had gone 0-4 at T-Mobile Park since their win over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the 2001 ALCS, including their disappointing 3-2 defeat to the Tigers in 11 innings against the Tigers on Saturday.
So tied at 2 in the bottom of the eighth, and with one out, Raleigh lined a 110.9 mph double down the right-field line on the first pitch against reliever Kyle Finnegan.
Raleigh led the Mariners in bWAR (7.3) and was a third-round pick of the Mariners in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Florida State. He has all the makings of a Mariners captain, since he won Platinum Glove for best overall defensive player in 2024.
Of course he hit a franchise record for home runs (60) in 2025, but Raleigh also helped the Mariners win their first postseason series in more than two decades by going 4 for 8 with a home run and four runs scored in the 2022 AL Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays .
Julio Rodriguez Comes Up Big For Mariners Again
The next batter was Rodriguez, who got a $1.75 million signing bonus from the Mariners as a 16-year-old in 2017. Seattle discovered him after he left his home at 14 and joined a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.
He climbed the ranks swiftly and won the AL Rookie of the Year in 2022, earning a 12-year contract from the M’s. But he has endured two straight up-and-down seasons, which manager Dan Wilson watched first hand, even though he helped carry Seattle to the AL West title.
“The second half that Julio has had has been tremendous,” Wilson said. “We’ve seen these great at-bats all along in the second half. His maturity, that he has experienced here throughout the season, has really paid off.”
But Rodriguez socked a 1-0 splitter down the left-field line to drive home Raleigh and give Seattle the lead for good.
“To stay in that moment and not try and do too much, that says so much about Julio and what he has done all season,” Wilson said.
Rodriguez even soaked it all in while driving the 47,371 into delirium, and in some cases, tears.
“It was huge,” Rodriguez said. “After I hit it, I kind of looked around and kind of watched everyone jumping around. That made me feel really good. It was an awesome moment.”
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