The Seattle Mariners made a notable change to their lineup on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, with manager Scott Servais moving Julio Rodriguez out of the top two spots for the first time this season. Instead, the struggling star batted sixth.
Unfortunately, the adjustment did not yield immediate results, as Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Seattle’s 5-0 loss to the Yankees. The Mariners are hoping for better outcomes as they open a three-game interleague series against the Washington Nationals on Friday.
“Someone asked me about lineup construction the other day, and I said, ‘You want to get your best-performing guys near the top of the lineup,’” Servais explained. “Julio is usually one of our top performers. This change might take a bit of pressure off him. He’s still a crucial player for us. It might just be for a few days. We’ll see how it goes.”
Servais informed Rodriguez of the decision following Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to the Yankees, where Rodriguez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
“He just told me he was going to put me lower in the lineup and switch things around a bit,” Rodriguez said.
In 51 games this season, Rodriguez is batting .257 with two home runs and 14 RBIs, and he has struck out 62 times in 214 plate appearances.
Rodriguez seemed to accept the decision with understanding.
“When you hit a bit lower in the lineup, you get to see how the pitcher is working against other hitters,” Rodriguez said.
Servais pointed out that Rodriguez’s main issue is his timing.
“It’s better to be early and get into the hitting position rather than being late,” Servais said. “He’s hitting a lot of foul balls to the opposite field and chopping balls into the ground. He’s hitting them hard, but it’s hard to make a big impact when you’re always hitting ground balls. We want him to get the bat out front and lift the ball more. He knows this, but he hasn’t been able to fix it yet.”
Despite his struggles, Rodriguez remains diligent, often arriving at the ballpark early to work on his hitting.
“I feel good and healthy,” he said. “If the results aren’t there, I’m not going to panic. I’ll keep working, trying to get better, and help this team win.”
Even with Rodriguez’s lack of production, the Mariners are still in first place in the American League West.
Meanwhile, the Nationals, who had Thursday off, have been struggling, losing seven of their past eight games to fall below .500 and into third place in the National League East. They’ve been shut out in three of those games, with their only win being a 12-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
“It’s baseball,” Nationals outfielder Jacob Young said. “Some days you’re hitting the ball well, and some days you’re not. Sometimes you face a pitcher who’s having a great game. It happens.”
In the series opener, Mariners right-hander George Kirby (4-4, 3.99 ERA) will face Nationals lefty Mackenzie Gore (2-4, 3.30 ERA). Kirby is 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA in one previous start against Washington, while Gore will be facing the Mariners for the first time.
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