“There is nothing I can do to make it better. Just wait.” That’s Julio Rodríguez explaining why his concussion was more difficult for him than prior injuries.
Julio’s a player that thrives on being at the center of things, always hustling, always giving the game everything he has. So when Nolan Schanuel’s errant throw hit him in the back of the head on July 2nd, it wasn’t surprising to see him notice the ball ricocheting into the outfield, jump up from his slide into second, and sprint into third to seize the extra base. When it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t OK, it would lead to two weeks of waiting. “That’s the most difficult thing because I’m somebody that if I hit the IL, I know I’m going to do whatever I can to get whatever it is better. But that—. I just wait and be patient until the time comes.”
Tonight was his first game back since being activated off the Injured List, and it was a tough one to walk into. San Francisco’s starter, Logan Webb, has consistently been one of MLB’s best pitchers for half a decade now. And boy did he show it through his first six innings.
The Mariners bats were utterly unable to get anything going against Webb and his sweeper-forward kitchen-sink approach. His first inning would be one of his longest, at all of 13 pitches, sending J.P. Crawford, Julio, and Dominic Canzone down in order. Through four innings, the Mariners had collected just a single hit, a single off the bat of Cole Young. When Julio led off the next inning, he struck out for the second time, this time on three pitches. If he wanted to contribute, he was going to have to wait.
Tonight demanded even more patience out of him because he wasn’t in the field. Trying to ease him back into things, the team had him DH tonight, and might tomorrow as well, depending on how he recovers. “I definitely had to adjust to DHing,” he said, adding that was trying his best to stay engaged with the game. But it can’t have been easy watching the Giants score a run when his replacement in centerfield, Luke Raley, bobbled a ball. All Julio could do was watch. And wait.
That was one of three runs allowed by Bryan Woo, who was otherwise excellent. The other two came off home runs: a squeaker into that tiny pocket between the left field foul pole and the visitors’ bullpen and a more convincing dinger off what Woo thinks was nevertheless a good pitch. Each of those runs feeling a little fluky means that Woo pitched better than his line suggests. His success was no doubt in part because his sinker was working tonight, which has often been the difference between his good outings and bad ones this season. He even collected his 500th career strikeout along the way tonight.
But with the Mariners unable to get anything going against Webb, Woo left the game with the team trailing 3-0. Webb was starting to look like he might pitch a Maddux, but in the seventh, his command suddenly seemed to escape him. He hit Randy Arozarena (Randy’s preferred method of reaching base since he doesn’t have to do anything), then walked Josh Naylor on four pitches. With two on, Cole Young, owner of the Mariners’ only hit, stepped into the box. Young earned his earlier hit, being attacked exclusively on the outer half, and so taking one of Webb’s best changeups the other way. So it was even more impressive to see him adjust in this at-bat, when Webb started attacking him inside. Attributing his success to having a simple mindset, Young took a pitch on the inside and cranked it to the pull side to tie the game at three.
The entire stadium came back to life. It suddenly felt like the Mariners’ game to win. They’d just have to wait longer than you’d have liked, as the offense couldn’t cash in any further over the next two innings.
The bullpen certainly did their part. Gabe Speier was lights out, riding his recently increased velocity to get the Giants way out in front of his slider. Eduard Bazardo allowed a baserunner on a hit that probably should have been scored an error. And Andrés Muñoz put together his most dominant performance in weeks: a three-pitch strikeout, an 0-2 easy ground ball, and a three-pitch strikeout. In the tenth, Jose A. Ferrer needed a little more help from his defense, but Colt Emerson made a sparkling play, requiring the combination of range, quickness, and arm strength that I’d sort of forgotten shortstops could have.
Leading off the bottom of the 10th, Colt followed up his great play with a perfectly placed bunt to move Víctor Robles, the Manfred Man at second base, to third. That’s the benefit of being on the field and in the lineup. You never have to wait that long for another opportunity to contribute.
J.P. Crawford then walked to bring Julio back to the plate. On a night where he never touched first base, struck out twice, and had to spend the Giants’ halves of the innings watching from the dugout, it was finally his time. “Just wait and be patient until the time comes.” This time, it didn’t take long, punishing the second pitch of the at-bat deep enough to left field to let Robles stride home at less than full speed.
And that patience gets Julio tonight’s Sun Hat Award. He joked that he was trying to protect himself in the celebration, “I was kind of like ah-ah” raising his arms over his head. “But that’s OK. We’re all good.”
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