Julio Rodríguez exits game early, Seattle Mariners lose 5-3 to Orioles
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Julio Rodríguez #44 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after hitting a double in the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Kevin Ng / Getty Images)
SEATTLE - Kyle Bradish struck out a career-high 12 batters, and Julio Rodríguez left the game early with a hamstring injury in a 5-3 Seattle Mariners loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
Rodríguez left the game at the end of the sixth inning after striking out to end the inning on a checked swing attempt against Bradish. Rodríguez chased a curveball from Bradish in the dirt and didn't attempt to run to first on the "dropped" third strike.
Rodríguez briefly conferred with a trainer on the bench in the dugout before retreating to the clubhouse. Rob Refsnyder entered the lineup in place of Rodríguez as Victor Robles moved from right field to center field to cover Rodríguez's absence.
Manager Dan Wilson said Rodríguez had a spasm in his hamstring that led to them pulling him from the game. Wilson said he believed the injury happened on a leaping catch in left-center field on a flyball from Adley Rutschman to open the top of the sixth inning. He is considered day-to-day.
"A little bit of a spasm in his hamstring," Wilson said. "Thought it best to get him out with what we've got going on right now in terms of injuries. Thought it was smart to get him out of there and give it a little bit of a rest."
Randy Arozarena went on the injured list on Tuesday before the game with a hamstring issue as well, and Luke Raley has been unavailable the last two nights with back tightness. Combined, it's left the Mariners' outfield short-handed as Connor Joe was called up from Triple-A Tacoma for added depth.
Rodríguez was Bradish's 10th strikeout of the night, and he'd get two more to set a career-high before leaving with two outs in the seventh inning. Bradish allowed a lone run on five hits with two walks on 100 pitches.
Seattle scored five runs on seven hits with three home runs last week in Baltimore against Bradish, chasing him from the game after only four innings. But Wednesday night was a different story.
Of the four hits the Mariners managed against Bradish through seven innings, two of them were followed by outs on the bases. Cal Raleigh was caught stealing after a ball briefly got away from catcher Adley Rutschman, and Connor Joe was thrown out at third base trying to stretch a single after the ball bounded away from Leody Taveras in center field.
Rodríguez doubled over the head of right fielder Tyler O'Neill in the fourth inning and scored on a single by Dominic Canzone for the only run of the night for Seattle.
Seattle scored five runs on seven hits with three home runs last week in Baltimore against Bradish, chasing him from the game after only four innings. But Wednesday night was a different story.
Of the four hits the Mariners managed against Bradish through seven innings, two of them were followed by outs on the bases. Cal Raleigh was caught stealing after a ball briefly got away from catcher Adley Rutschman, and Connor Joe was thrown out at third base trying to stretch a single after the ball bounded away from Leody Taveras in center field.
Rodríguez doubled over the head of right fielder Tyler O'Neill in the fourth inning and scored on a single by Dominic Canzone for the only run of the night for Seattle.
Gunnar Henderson gave Baltimore a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-out home run off Mariners starter George Kirby.
After Rodríguez scored Seattle's run in the fourth, Taveras tripled with two outs in the sixth to drive in Pete Alonso to restore a two-run cushion, 3-1 for the Orioles.
Kirby allowed three runs on eight hits with no walks and five strikeouts for Seattle.
A leadoff walk from Jackson Holliday in the seventh inning burned Alex Hoppe as he'd come around to score on a double play grounder by Taylor Ward for a 4-1 Baltimore lead. Holliday then homered off Michael Rucker with two outs in the ninth to extend the lead to 5-1.
Canzone and Cole Young blasted a pair of solo home runs to right field on the first pitches they'd see from Orioles reliever Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning that cut the lead to just two. However, Helsley rebounded to finish off the game for Baltimore.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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