Mariners star Julio Rodríguez crashes into wall, sprains ankle
Jul 21, 2024, 3:22 PM | Updated: 5:24 pm
Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez is helped off the field on Sunday. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Seattle Mariners star center fielder Julio Rodríguez exited Sunday’s series finale against Houston after crashing into the outfield wall and twisting his right ankle while trying to catch a fly ball from Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez in the sixth inning.
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After colliding with the wall, Rodríguez fell to the ground and immediately clutched his ankle. He remained on the ground for several minutes as Mariners manager Scott Servais and trainer Taylor Bennett rushed out to center field. Rodríguez eventually got up and gingerly walked off the field with the help of Bennett and Servais.
Servais said after the game that Rodríguez has a sprained ankle and will be day to day. He said X-rays were negative.
“Right now, what I’ve been told, it’s gonna be day to day,” Servais said. “We’ll see where it’s at. So I think hopefully, knock on wood, we escaped something (serious).”
Servais said Rodríguez will also probably get an MRI. The Mariners open a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
“We’ll take all precautions there and make sure he’s 100 percent before he gets back out there,” Servais said.
Rodríguez nearly made a spectacular catch on the play, but the ball fell out of his glove as he collided with the wall. Álvarez ended up with a two-out RBI triple, which cut the Mariners’ lead to 3-2. Seattle went on to win 6-4 to avoid a three-game sweep and move back into a virtual tie with Houston atop the American League West.
“What an effort,” Servais said. “I mean, the ground he covered, the point in the game – the ball was in his glove. It might be the catch of the year if he hangs on, but stuff happens when you’re playing that hard.
“It was a heck of a collision running into the wall,” he added. “That wall’s not moving and that’s a big dude who’s really moving fast. So you’re concerned when you get out there. I think (we felt better) once he started putting a little weight on it and realized that he just twisted it and got it caught up in the wall.”
After a perplexing first half of the season, Rodríguez has started to rediscover the superstar form that made him one of baseball’s brightest young talents over his first two MLB seasons. Since July 4, he is batting .460 with four homers and three doubles in 37 at-bats, including a two-run blast in Saturday’s 4-2 loss. Prior to July 4, he was hitting .244 with just seven homers and six doubles through his first 87 games.
Rodríguez exited a game on July 6 after experiencing tightness in his right quad. After an MRI on his quad came back clean, he pinch-hit on July 7 and returned to the starting lineup in Seattle’s next game on July 9.
Over his first two seasons in the majors, Rodríguez slashed .279/.338/.495 with 60 homers and an .834 OPS. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2022 and finished fourth in the AL MVP voting in 2023.
“Hopefully we can escape a long absence from him,” Servais said. “He’s been swinging the bat so well here over the last couple weeks and we’re gonna need him. He’s pivotal to our offense turning the corner here.”
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