Julio frustrated but keeping belief amid Mariners’ struggles

The Seattle Mariners clubhouse after their fifth straight loss was as somber as one would expect.

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With playoff chances dwindling there was perhaps a sense of shock at what had transpired since experiencing the high of walloping the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball before leaving for what has turned into an ill-fated road trip so far. With Julio Rodríguez, who walked through the clubhouse in his workout gear drenched in sweat, there was no mistaking the look on his face. It was as dark a look that has been seen on the 23-year-old’s face. The conversation with the media would clearly need to wait.

Someone needed to speak for the team. Mitch Haniger did his part, expressing his belief the work he has seen continue to be put in by his teammates would pay off. Twenty minutes later, Rodriguez was ready to talk. Having been the last at the plate with a chance to perhaps start the improbable comeback down five in the ninth inning, he needed a little extra time.

“Obviously we had a chance. I just didn’t feel happy with that at-bat,” he said of his plate appearance with the bases loaded. “It can go both ways, they are competing too. I just hold myself up there, I just feel that was a point where I wanted to come through for the team. It didn’t happen, but on to the next. I got my workout in, got the things out of my body, so we are good to go the next day.”

Another day and a chance to turn things around is something Julio would like to see for himself and the team, the starting pitchers in particular. For him, each loss carries extra sting because of the performances the Mariners are getting on the mound.

“I personally feel bad when I can not do the best I can do to support the pitchers when I am hitting, because they show up every night and give us a chance every night,” he said. “It hits me harder because our pitchers are always coming out there, always doing the best for us. I just feel it’s only right for us to do the same for them. When I can’t personally do that, I feel really bad.”

With the roller coaster of a season the Mariners have had, there is nothing to say a hot streak is not right around the corner. That is of little comfort to Rodríguez.

“I don’t want to talk about having a hot streak,” he said. “What I would like to have is a consistent footing that you say, ‘OK, this what the Mariners got.’ I just feel like really good teams don’t have streaks, really good teams are really good teams every single day no matter what, if they win or lose. That’s just what I want to believe. I don’t want no streak.”

They have seen the consistency with the starting pitching but not the offense, and Rodríguez has contributed to the offensive struggle for a good part of the year. What he did in the first three months of the season does not appear to be on his mind right now. He sees one path out of the struggle for himself and the rest of the Mariners.

“It takes a lot of courage and belief to stay strong and keep pushing forward,” he said. “Obviously it’s tough right now, but I feel like if you believe in yourself – it doesn’t matter how you want to look at it – you can get out of whatever it is you are in.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

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• Mariners’ power-hitting prospect is climbing up the rankings
• Salk: Should Julio Rodríguez take a page out of Randy Arozarena’s book?
• Video: Mariners Breakdown — How much trouble is Seattle in?

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