It was the scream heard ‘round the clubhouse.
As Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo was giving an interview following a brutal Game 7 ALCS defeat to the Blue Jays on Monday night, a guttural yell erupted nearby. Reporters confirmed it was Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners’ star center fielder, letting out his frustration after the season-ending 4-3 loss.
Rodriguez made the final out when he struck out swinging against Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman on a pitch that would have been ball four, with slugger Cal Raleigh waiting in the on-deck circle.
However, the Mariners would not have been in a position to win without a stellar performance from Rodriguez. The Dominican Republic native led off the game with a double and scored, then homered in the third inning to give Seattle a 2-1 lead.
“When I was a kid in Loma de Cabrera, I never really thought, ever, that I was going to be able to get this far in this sport,” Rodriguez, 24, said after the game, according to Seattle’s Fox 13. “And to be able to hit a home run in Game 7 in the sport that I love, that I grew up playing, it was very special.”
A Raleigh home run in the fifth pushed the lead to 3-1 before Toronto put together a franchise-altering rally in the seventh inning. The Blue Jays got the first two runners on against Woo before a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third.
Woo was then replaced by Eduard Bazardo, who gave up a three-run homer to George Springer that gave Toronto the lead for good.
“I hate to use the word failure, but it’s a failure,” Raleigh said. “That’s what we expected — to get to a World Series, win a World Series — and that’s what the bar is and what the standard is. It’s what we want to hold ourselves accountable to.”
The Mariners had won the first two games of the series, were up 3-2, and then were just seven outs away in Game 7 before seeing their season end in heartbreaking fashion.
The Blue Jays will face the heavily favored Dodgers in the World Series, starting Friday night in Toronto.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/21/sports/julio-rodriguezs-outburst-interrupts-interview-after-loss-to-blue-jays/
