Julio Rodríguez, J.P. Crawford homer as Mariners take key series from rival

SEATTLE – Sunday was a day to remember for the Seattle Mariners, a game where history was made, home runs flew out of the ballpark seemingly at will, and an absolutely vital series finished in thrilling fashion.

Just two days after sending the Mariners to a win over the Texas Rangers with a walkoff two-run home run , shortstop J.P. Crawford delivered the winning punch again with a two-run homer against Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, while Julio Rodriguez accomplished something that no ballplayer has done with a two-run blast in the third inning of Seattle’s series-clinching 5-4 win.

Rodriguez’ homer against deGrom was the 100th of his career and 20th of the season, making him the first player to have at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in each of his first four big league seasons.

Rodriguez stole his 21st base of the year in the bottom of the fifth inning, and finished the day 2 for 4.

“It’s awesome,” Rodriguez said of his history-making homer. “For a kid from Loma de Cabrera (Dominican Republic), that’s a very big accomplishment, and I know my family is very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking about all the things that we had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is definitely awesome.”

With 100 homers and 106 stolen bases so far, Rodriguez is just the third player ever to have each 100 homers and 100 stolen bases in his first four seasons , with the others being Bobby Bonds and Darryl Strawberry.

He’s also the first Mariners player with four total seasons of 20 homers and 20 steals, passing Alex Rodriguez’s previous mark of three, and is the third fastest Mariner to reach 100 career homers behind only A-Rod and Cal Raleigh.

Rodriguez brought the crowd to its feet again in the top of the fifth with a ranging catch on a flyball from Rangers third baseman Josh Smith, and then flashed his signature “No Fly Zone” sign to the center field seats.

“His accomplishments at a very young age are pretty impressive,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Congratulations to Julio on that milestone, and what he has done defensively out there for us in center field has been incredible. Another couple of really nice catches today, one right at the wall that was a very tough chance, and he just continues to roll. It’s been nothing but outstanding from Julio.”

While Julio’s homer was the big news of the day, Crawford came up big too with his 408-foot shot in the fourth, giving Seattle a lead it never let up.

After being mired in a 3 for 45 slump prior to his Friday night walkoff homer, the first of his career, Crawford now has a four-game hitting streak and a couple of big hits that have come when the Mariners needed them most.

While he spent most of the season in the leadoff spot, Crawford’s post-deadline production has come batting eighth .

“I feel like he has come through so many times for us and just to see him do it again, in a very big series against a division rival that we’re really close (with) … to step up again for us is huge,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what we have always seen from him, and it was awesome to just see him out there, just banging balls.”

Going up against deGrom, the former New York Mets star, Seattle knew that runs and hits might be hard to come by with the 37-year old experiencing a resurgent season in Texas. But Seattle wound up driving deGrom from the game after five innings, with the veteran allowing five earned runs on four hits and three walks.

Jorge Polanco got to deGrom first with a 404-foot solo homer to right field in the second, but Corey Seager gave Texas the lead with a two-run shot to center field off Mariners rookie starter Logan Evans the very next inning.

Rodriguez’ homer in the fourth, which was his ninth since July 11, put the Mariners back on top 3-2. Evans was happy to have Julio behind his back.

“Just like it is for a fan, amazing,” Evans said . “I mean, shout out to him, obviously a great accomplishment, and that’s my guy. He’s super cool on the field and also off the field, and I’m just super happy for him. I know all the work he puts in to do that, so it’s pretty cool watching that live today.”

After the Rangers tied things the next inning when former Mariner Rowdy Tellez drove in Adolis Garcia with a double off the left field wall , Crawford came through with his ninth homer of the season.

Evans allowed three earned runs on five hits over five innings, with three strikeouts to earn his fifth win.

Garcia hit a solo homer off Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas in the top of the sixth. Vargas allowed just the one earned run on one hit over two innings, and newly-acquired lefty Caleb Ferguson pitched a perfect eighth.

Andres Munoz walked the first batter of the ninth inning, but rebounded to get his 25th save. Crawford got the first out at second base after making a backhanded stop on a Joc Pederson fielder’s choice grounder, and Cal Raleigh threw out pinch-runner Sam Haggerty on a steal attempt at second base, which was overturned after review.

Wyatt Langford then struck out swinging to end the game.

The Mariners have shown an ability to come up big against elite starters this season, with two wins over deGrom, two wins over Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, and a win over Pirates standout Paul Skenes. For a team with postseason aspirations, the ability to beat top quality pitchers is a promising sign.

“I’m sure you could point to a thousand physical things these guys do really, really well,” Wilson said. “But it comes down to what’s inside their heart. We talk about it a lot, they can fight with the best in there, and they’ve shown that time and time again. That’s why they’re able to beat some of the league’s best.”

After claiming three games in the four-game series, the Mariners are now two games ahead of the Rangers in both the AL West and AL Wild Card standings.

And they’re 21/2 games back of Houston for first place after the Astros were swept by the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

The Mariners end their stretch of 17 games in 17 days with a day off on Monday, and begin a three-game series at home Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.