SEATTLE – For the second straight game in this American League Championship Series, Julio Rodríguez went deep in the first inning to give the Seattle Mariners an early lead.
Randy Johnson throws out 1st pitch for Mariners’ ALCS Game 3
After Randy Arozarena drew a leadoff walk and stole second in the first inning of Wednesday night’s Game 3, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shane Bieber left a 93 mph fastball over the inner portion of the plate.
Rodríguez jumped on the 1-1 pitch and uncorked a 112.2 mph missile off his bat, sending a 414-foot no-doubter over the left-field fence that gave Seattle a 2-0 lead and sent an already-electric T-Mobile Park into a frenzy.
JULIO RODRÍGUEZ 2-RUN BLAST! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/olXcF7mzh4
— MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2025
Two days prior, Rodríguez blasted a three-run homer in the first inning of Game 2 in Toronto, which set the tone for a 10-3 victory that gave the Mariners a 2-0 series lead.
Rodríguez, who was one of MLB’s best hitters over the second half of the regular season, was hitting .258 with three homers, a double and eight RBIs in eight games this postseason after he reached on an infield single in his second plate appearance Wednesday. He delivered one of the biggest moments of the Mariners’ postseason run back in Game 2 of the ALDS when he hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning of a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rodríguez was named an AL Gold Glove finalist for the first time in his standout four-year career.
More Seattle Mariners ALCS coverage
• Julio is an AL Gold Glove finalist, but Cal Raleigh snubbed
• The latest on Mariners RHP Bryan Woo’s status for the ALCS
• Seattle Mariners have big advantage in ALCS that stands out
• Passan: Polanco’s heroics are how ‘World Series runs are built’
• Morosi on Mariners: Why ALCS may be very different back in Seattle
