Julio Rodríguez has his first career postseason home run, and the Seattle Mariners have ended a couple of long playoff droughts as a result.

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Rodríguez caught up to a 97 mph high fastball from Detroit Tigers pitcher Troy Melton in the fourth inning, sending it 413 feet to center field to put the Mariners up 1-0 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.

JULIOOOOOOOOO! 🔱#ALDS pic.twitter.com/WHIZhzk4nW

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2025

The solo shot was the sixth career hit in the playoffs for Rodríguez, who was a rookie when Seattle last made it to October in 2022. Four of those six hits have gone for extra bases, but the one Saturday was the first to find the seats. And the seats it found were quite fitting – he hit it to the J-Rod Squad, or No Fly Zone, just to the right of dead center field at T-Mobile Park.

The run scored by Rodríguez was the first by the Mariners in a home playoff game since Oct. 18, 2001 when Stan Javier hit a two-run homer for Seattle against New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.

Rodríguez’s homer also ended a string of 26 innings in the playoffs without a run scored. That includes their 1-0 loss in 18 innings to the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the ALDS in 2022, plus five innings in Game 2 of that series.

Rodríguez has been one of the best players in baseball since the last time the Mariners matched up with the Tigers. He homered in each game of a three-game series sweep by Seattle in Detroit just before the MLB All-Star break in July. From that point to the end of the regular season, Rodríguez slashed .299/.356/.598 for a .954 OPS with 21 home runs in 68 games.

Unfortunately, Seattle’s slim lead didn’t last for long as Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning off of Mariners starter George Kirby. It was the fifth career hit for Carpenter against Kirby, all of which have been homers.

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