Julio Rodríguez activated from concussion IL, drives in walk-off run in Mariners' 4-3 win over Giants

Julio Rodríguez returned from the injured list on Saturday and drove in the walk-off run in the Seattle Mariners’ 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants in 10 innings.

Rodríguez had been on the 7-day concussion IL since being struck in the back of the head by a throw while running the bases in a July 2 game versus the Los Angeles Angels. The Mariners hoped that the All-Star break would provide additional time for him to recover.

Rather than return to the lineup on Friday when the regular season resumed, the team decided to have Rodríguez go through a typical day’s pregame work, including running the bases and hitting off a pitching machine, then check how he responded to that before activating him.

“Obviously, you don’t want to mess around with head injuries, and they all sort of come in different forms and feel differently for different guys over a period of time,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander told reporters (including the Seattle Times’ Tim Booth) before Friday’s game.

Rodríguez batted second in the lineup at designated hitter, rather than return immediately to center field. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

But in the 10th inning, after designated runner Victor Robles was bunted over to third base by Colt Emerson, Rodriguez lifted an outside sweeper from Giants reliever Dylan Smith to left field. The fly ball was deep enough to score Robles for a walk-off win.

Prior to going on the IL, Rodriguez compiled a .259/.323/.424 slash line and was tied for the team lead with 14 home runs. Additionally, he had 15 doubles with 40 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 87 games.

Mariners starter Bryan Woo allowed 2 earned runs and 6 hits over 6 innings with 7 strikeouts. José A. Ferrer picked up the win by pitching the 10th inning. For the Giants, Logan Webb gave up 3 runs and only 2 hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out 5 batters.

With the win, Seattle improved to 49-50 and is 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers (50-48) for first place in the AL West. The Mariners are also one game back of the Boston Red Sox for the AL’s third wild-card spot, tied with the Minnesota Twins.