ATLANTA — Julio Rodríguez hit two of his team’s five home runs, Cal Raleigh delivered his MLB-leading 52nd homer of the year, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Atlanta Braves 10-2 on Saturday night to even up their three-game interleague series.
Atlanta, ahead of only three teams in the National League standings, won Friday’s opener 4-1. The rubber match is set for 12:05 p.m. Sunday, with the earlier-than-usual time slot coming with the game scheduled to be streamed live on Roku.
Rodríguez, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, had his third multihomer game of the season and the seventh of his career. He and Eugenio Suárez hit home runs off Daysbel Hernández (4-3) in the seventh inning to propel the Mariners to just their second win in their past nine games as they cling to the final wild-card playoff berth in the American League with three weeks left in the regular season.
Suárez continued to torment the Braves this season as he is now 11-for-29 (.379) with eight RBIs, five walks and five home runs against Atlanta. Braves rookie right-hander Hurston Waldrep allowed multiple runs in a start for the first time in six this season. The 23-year-old allowed two runs on two hits with five walks and five strikeouts in five innings.
Mariners starter Bryce Miller allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Gabe Speier (3-3) threw 2/3 of an inning in relief to pick up the win.
Waldrep threw 91 pitches over five innings before giving way to the bullpen. Seattle then scored seven runs on eight hits off three Atlanta relievers in the seventh and eighth innings. Raleigh’s homer was his 42nd of the season while playing as a catcher, tying Javy Lopez, who had 42 for the 2003 Braves, for the most home runs as a catcher in a single season.
The scheduled starters on the mound Sunday are Seattle right-hander Luis Castillo (4-5, 5.71 ERA) and Atlanta right-hander Spencer Strider (5-12, 4.97).