Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners

There’s not many scenarios in which you would intentionally walk a batter in order to face three-time All-Star Julio Rodríguez. Surely the Tigers will rethink that strategy next time. And it’s quite possible, considering just how far Rodríguez heaved his bat towards the home dugout while giving out a tumultuous roar after belting a timely opposite-field three-run blast in the Mariners' emotional 4-2 win over the Tigers, he might have felt some disrespect. But according to Seattle’s everyday centerfielder, it was important for him to stay composed leading up to the at-bat. “Being honest, I had no emotion about it,” Rodríguez said. “If I start getting emotional about it, I feel like I put it right into their hands. I try to stay focused and just try to get my pitch and execute. “I feel like that’s what I did, and once I beat that, I definitely let some things out.” In this case, “let some things out” meant an emotional bat flip and shout after sending a first pitch sinker in the lower-outside zone a Statcast-projected 366 feet into the right-field stands. Has he hurled his bat like that before in his career? “Maybe at some point," Rodriguez said with a grin. But Randy Arozarena, who made two fantastic defensive plays in left field in the fourth, set up the inning after ripping a two-out double down the left field off Brenan Hanifee. Detroit opted to walk lefty Dominic Canzone, which set up Rodríguez’s emphatic swing to break a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Mariners. “Whatever it was, you know, who am I to judge any decisions that are made?” manager Dan Wilson said. “The key there was that Julio put up a really good at-bat on that first pitch.” Sure, Rodríguez isn’t having his best statistical season, entering Wednesday slashing .255/.318/.413, but he does have a knack for a second-half surge after the Trade Deadline. It was a much-needed swing for the Mariners for plenty of reasons. But surely, they didn’t want to spoil another dominant outing at T-Mobile Park for Bryan Woo.