Video: Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez goes 450 ft on 1st MLB HR

May 1, 2022, 12:55 PM | Updated: 5:09 pm

Julio Rodríguez hits his first major league home run during the sixth inning against Miami on Sunday. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

For the first of what should be many times in his MLB career, Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez has left the building.

And the highly-touted 21-year-old center fielder made sure it was especially memorable.

What Jerry Dipoto is seeing from Mariners’ three big early standouts

After the Marlins opted for ace Sandy Alcantara to intentionally walk Abraham Toro in the top of the sixth inning, Rodríguez came up with a pair of runners on and a chance to add to Seattle’s 2-0 lead. And did he ever.

.@JRODshow44's first home run in the bigs goes 4️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ feet! #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/RsJyltpx9r

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 1, 2022

Yeah, you read the tweet right. Rodríguez jumped on a 97 mph Alcantara fastball and drove it 450 feet for an absolute no-doubt shot. That pushed the Mariners’ lead to 5-0 in a game they eventually won 7-3, making Miami pay for the disrespect of putting the hitter before on base to instead face Rodríguez.

It was a bit of wait for Rodríguez’s first MLB homer, but it’s not one that will soon be forgotten. It’s also a sign of him figuring things out in the big leagues. After going just 2 for 21 (.095) in his first six games, he’s hit .286 with a .355 on-base percentage and .393 slugging percentage in the 15 games since. He’s also a perfect 9 for 9 on stolen base attempts and leads all of MLB with the nine steals.

The homer wasn’t the only first for Rodríguez on Sunday. He also had an infield single in the second inning and a clean single to right field in the eighth, giving him his first three-hit game with the Mariners.

Rodríguez, who owns a .234/.306/.325 slash line for the season, has done well at the plate considering he’s had so many called third strikes on pitches outside of the strike zone that the Mariners have sent a letter to MLB about it.

He’s also played a strong center field, which is still somewhat of a new position to him as he came up in the minors primarily playing in the corners.

With the Mariners (12-10) having wrapped up their series in Miami, they now travel to Houston for three games starting Monday against the defending American League West champion Astros (11-11). Radio coverage of Mariners games is carried on Seattle Sports Station 710 AM, and is available to stream through SeattleSports.com and the Seattle Sports app to listeners located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.