Mariners prodigy Julio Rodríguez has been on fire for several weeks and on Friday night, he joined the Mariners record books during a 2-0 win in Houston that moved Seattle into playoff position (and we'll get to that).
We can go back to Wednesday, when Rodríguez was 4 for 6. He struck out in his fifth at-bat and that is relevant here, due to a streak being involved. Thursday, Julio went 5 for 5, meaning he entered Friday's action with a hit in six consecutive plate appearances.
Friday's first at-bat? He singled to lead off the game. Next time up? This'll do:
julio's absolutely locked in rn pic.twitter.com/aezRDwFX8m
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 19, 2023
In his third time up, he singled again. He then reached on an error in the seventh, so even though the Astros still didn't technically get him out, it counts as an 0-1 on the at-bat and ends his streak of consecutive hits at nine. He got a hit last time up to finish 4 for 5 on the night.
The nine straight hits tie a club record. The Mariners to record hits in nine straight at-bats:
- Julio Rodríguez, Aug. 16-18, 2023
- Danny Valencia, June 2-4, 2017
- Raul Ibañez, Sept. 22-23, 2004
The MLB record is 12:
More recently, Dustin Pedroia recorded hits 11 times in a row in 2016. So did Bernie Williams in 2002.
Not only that, but Rodríguez now has three straight four-hit games. That's the first time a Mariners player has accomplished that feat and he's the youngest player to do so since 1901.
The recent hot streak from Rodríguez is extended to much more than "just" these nine straight hits, though. He has racked up 12 hits in a three-game span, becoming the second-youngest player in MLB history to do this, after Buddy Lewis in 1937 did it at age 20 (via Sarah Langs).
There's a larger sample of fire here, too. Remember, Julio started the season slow enough that the words "sophomore slump" were bandied about. Through the end of June, he was hitting just .238/.302/.407. He's now up to .272/.332/.459. He's had 18 multi-hit games in his last 41 after having 25 in his first 80. From July 1 to Aug. 17, he hit .326/.379/.531 and that obviously doesn't include his stellar work on Friday. Also prior to Friday, his last 12 games, Julio was hitting .436 with a .746 slugging percentage.
As the Mariners look to surge into playoff position, he's been clutch, too. In the ninth inning Wednesday, he singled home an insurance run in a game they'd win by one. Thursday, he broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a two-out, RBI double. The Mariners would blow that lead and face a 4-2 deficit in the top of the eighth and then Rodríguez hit a three-run bomb. Friday, his solo homer started the scoring and ended up being all the Mariners' offense needed.
Speaking of the Mariners' surge toward a playoff spot -- see, I told you I'd get to that -- they have now won four in a row, 12 of their last 15 and are an AL-best 20-7 since July 19. In tandem with the Blue Jays' loss on Friday, the Mariners' win moved them into a half-game lead for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
The Mariners carried the longest playoff drought in the majors into last season, having not made the playoffs since 2001. They snapped that streak and won the Wild Card Series over the Blue Jays and now they are looking to make it two straight playoff appearances. With a hot team playing around a scorching hot superstar, things are falling into place.
