Mariners, led by 4 Rodriguez RBIs, escape sweep with win over Nationals

Julio Rodriguez helped the Seattle Mariners avoid a sweep against the Washington Nationals on Sunday with three hits and four RBIs in a 9-5 win. 

The Nationals mounted a comeback attempt behind C.J. Abrams. The shortstop knocked a three-run home run off the left-field foul pole to give Washington a brief 5-4 lead. It wouldn’t last. 

The Mariners, led by Rodriguez, regained the advantage in the eighth before adding insurance runs in the ninth to secure the victory. 

Rodriguez knocked a solo home run, his second of the series, in the fourth inning before powering the Mariners to a rally in the eighth. 

The outfielder singled a line drive into center field, bringing J.P. Crawford home from second base to tie the game.

Rodriguez then stole second and scored on a Ty France single to retake the lead for Seattle.

“As we all know, he’s really a young, aggressive hitter,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “When he gets a ball in the zone, he’s going to hit and he’s going to hit it hard. He had a good day today.” 

The Nationals’ offense sputtered throughout the game before finding life in the sixth inning.

Outfielder Victor Robles bunted for a single to lead off the inning. After a couple of flyouts, Robles stole second base to put himself into scoring position. Joey Meneses was hit by a pitch, and the Nationals gained momentum. 

The next batter, Luis Garcia, sent a foul ball near the left-field bleachers. A fan in a Seattle shirt nabbed the ball before the outfielder could make a play.

The umpires determined that the fan interfered with the outfielder’s ability to make a play and called the batter out, leading to thunderous boos throughout the stadium. Washington unsuccessfully challenged the ruling.

“I don’t know what they were looking at,” Martinez said. “It’s a shame that they made a call like that, it really is. You take away from what’s happening on the field. It’s brutal.”

But the Nationals used the momentum to generate a rally an inning later, as Ildemaro Vargas led off the seventh with a bunt for a hit. Nick Senzel and Keibert Ruiz followed him with singles of their own to load the bases. 

A Jesse Winker sacrifice fly advanced the runners before Abrams cleared the basepaths with a home run off the right-field foul pole that gave Washington its first lead of the game.

“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit. He gave me three sliders in a row, the last one was in the zone. I put a good swing on it,” Abrams said. “I was just hoping it stayed fair.”  

But Washington failed to respond in the last two innings. While the Mariners’ offense was rolling, the Nationals recorded just one more hit after the Abrams homer.

Washington starting pitcher Patrick Corbin allowed four runs on four hits in six innings. 

Reliever Dylan Floro, who had pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings for the Nationals, earned the loss after allowing two runs and recording just two outs.

“I think execution-wise, I left pitches more middle instead of getting two-seams in on their hands,” Floro said. “The best thing about [this game] is I get another chance to hopefully get back out tomorrow and hopefully get the team back on the ‘W’ this time.”

Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo shut down the Nationals for most of the game. The 24-year-old was pulled in the seventh inning and was responsible for three runs and five hits. 

Austin Voth earned the win for the Mariners as they snapped a five-game losing streak. 

The loss drops the Nationals to 23-28 on the season. After losing seven of its last 10 games, Washington sits third in the NL East, 14 games behind the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies.

The Nationals now head to Atlanta for a four-game series against the Braves that starts on Monday.

The Mariners will return to Seattle to host the Houston Astros on Monday.