The Seattle Mariners are taking on the New York Mets on Sunday night in the first ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ game in Seattle since 2004.

And that game just got a whole lot more interesting, as reports indicate that M’s star Julio Rodriguez will be unexpectedly activated from the injured list prior to the start of the contest.

Per Buster Olney of ESPN, who broke the news:

Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez is expected to be activated and back in the Seattle lineup Sunday, serving as the designated hitter. Seattle is set to play the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball.
Rodriguez suffered a high ankle sprain on July 21st, while making a play against the center field fence, and has been out since that time. Rodriguez has been making consistent progress in his recovery, and in recent days, he has been testing the ankle by running. It’s unclear when he will return to center field, but his presence in the lineup could give the Mariners a boost at a time when they are fighting the Houston Astros for AL West supremacy.
Rodriguez had started very slowly this season, but in his last nine games before his injury, Rodriguez batted .438 with a 1.281 OPS, with three homers.

High-ankle sprains are notoriously tough, and the ability to return is always dependent on the grade of sprain. Mitch Haniger, for example, suffered a high-ankle sprain in 2022 and was given a 10-12 week timeframe. This is less than four for Rodriguez.

There’s certainly some risk in doing this for Seattle. Rodriguez likely won’t be able to hit top-end speed as a runner and likely won’t be stealing many bases for a while, but his bat can certainly provide the jolt that Olney mentions.

Furthermore, his presence will take away at-bats from the slumping Mitch Garver, which is better for the offense as a whole. It will also push down slumping pieces like Jorge Polanco, lengthening the lineup at the bottom.

As Olney mentions, Rodriguez has struggled this season, but he is a two-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger. This will be his first game with Randy Arozarena, who was acquired at the trade deadline, and the energy around the team should continue to improve.

The M’s are 62-56 and will take on the Mets at 4:10 p.m. PT.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the series loss against the Detroit Tigers, Mitch Haniger’s final at-bat and the continued conversation about the future of Scott Servais. Patrick Dubuque, the leader of Baseball Prospectus, joins the show as well. CLICK HERE:

GRIFFEY HISTORY: It was during this week in 2001 that Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. became the youngest player in baseball history to reach 450 career home runs.

PITCHING PROWESS: The Mariners have shut out the Mets in back-to-back games. Just how rare is that? CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

Seattle Mariners starter Logan Gilbert did much of the heavy lifting Saturday night, tossing seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball in a 4-0 win over the New York Mets. But Gilbert and Seattle’s bullpen also received some pretty spectacular assists from their defense.

Mariners call up reliever prospect from Double-A Arkansas

The most jaw-dropping web gem came on a double play in the first inning. With a runner on first and one out, Mets slugger J.D. Martinez hit a hard grounder up the middle. Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco made a diving stop and then flipped the ball straight from his glove toward shortstop Leo Rivas, who was running toward the bag. The flip was a tad high, but that was no problem for Rivas. All in one motion, Rivas snagged the ball with his bare hand, tapped the bag with his foot, twisted his body and made a leaping throw to first that beat Martinez by a whisker.

The next highlight-reel play came in the fourth inning, when center fielder Víctor Robles made a full-extension diving catch on a line drive hit directly at him off the bat of Francisco Lindor.

Polanco then made another impressive play at second base in the eighth inning. Mets slugger Francisco Alvarez, who got jammed on a pitch from reliever Yimi García, sent a soft blooper to Polanco’s left. Polanco sprinted to reach the ball, but ended up slightly over-running it due to how much the ball was spinning. While moving to his left, Polanco reached back with his bare hand, grabbed the ball and fired to first for the out.

Who needs a glove?? pic.twitter.com/ylBm5906Gz

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 11, 2024

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Could Mariners’ huge walkoff win end up being the jolt they need?
• Do Mariners have a way to get Julio back from injury faster?
• Watch: Each of Mitch Haniger’s Mariners-record 8 walkoffs
• Mariners Roster Moves: OF Dominic Canzone activated from IL
• The story behind Seattle Mariners’ Andrés Muñoz taking his cat on road trips

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Kicking off the Mike Macdonald era with a solid start, the Seattle Seahawks scored a pair of touchdowns to build a 13-3 advantage at halftime over the Los Angeles Chargers in their preseason opener.

Making the start under center in place of Geno Smith, who Seattle opted not to play, Sam Howell only completed 10 out of 20 passes for 60 yards, but he didn’t have any turnovers and connected with tight end Brady Russell for a 13-yard touchdown to open the scoring at the 13:27 mark in the second quarter. Moments later, following an interception by safety Coby Bryant, undrafted rookie running back George Holani bounced a run outside to his ride to scamper for an 11-yard touchdown run to extend the lead.

Standing out for the offense, which only mustered 3.4 yards per play for the half but finished both red zone visits with a touchdown, Kenny McIntosh led the Seahawks with 40 rushing yards on eight carries, while Howell and undrafted rookie Kobe Lewis each ran for 17 yards on four carries apiece. Dareke Young paced Seattle’s receiving corps with two catches for 18 yards and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught a pair of passes for 13 yards

While the Seahawks were anything but explosive in the first half, they were efficient sustaining drives, as Howell and company converted seven out of 12 third downs to move the chains.

Defensively, Macdonald had to be thrilled by the effort Seattle’s defense gave in the first two quarters, holding Los Angeles to just three first downs, 71 total yards, and no third down conversions on seven attempts. Linebacker Jon Rhattigan and edge rusher Derick Hall each registered a sack on quarterback Easton Stick, while first-round pick Byron Murphy crashed into the backfield for a tackle for loss and also added two pressures as a pass rusher.

On special teams, Laviska Shenault exploded for a 44-yard return on Seattle’s lone kickoff return, providing some excitement about what the new rules adopted for the NFL could mean for a play that had become near non-existent in recent years.