After opting out of the All-Star Game, J-Rod continued his hot streak in Atlanta that had started in the summer.

It was at this very ballpark that Julio Rodríguez could have made his third All-Star appearance, but he chose to skip it, explaining that he needed a mental and physical reset for the second half of the season.

Over the following seven weeks, the Mariners’ center fielder demonstrated why he deserved to be part of this summer’s classic with a three-hit night in today’s 10-2 victory over the Braves—hitting two massive home runs and making an impressive catch.

“That was probably the biggest and most important decision I had to make,” Rodríguez said. “Obviously, I remember posting that I really wanted to be here. But I felt I needed a reset. I needed time to get myself into the best form because that’s what matters most—to perform at my best for the team. That meant a lot to me and allowed me to do just that.”

Rodríguez launched a 422-foot opposite-field homer off Hurston Waldrep in the first inning, landing in the second tier of the stands to give the Mariners the early lead. Then, in the seventh inning, he broke a tense 2-2 tie with a powerful 441-foot home run into the waterfall area in center field.

The second home run truly opened things up for the struggling Mariners, who went on to hit three home runs in total and easily snapped a four-game losing streak on this three-city road trip that started with a 1-6 record.

“When someone does something big for the team, you can always feel that positive energy,” Rodríguez said. “It’s a really cool feeling. Seeing everyone respond like that is amazing.”

Cal Raleigh capped the night with a 418-foot solo shot in the ninth inning into the right-field Chop House restaurant. This was his 52nd home run of the season and his 42nd as a catcher, tying the Mariners’ record for most home runs by a catcher in a season, set by Javy Lopez in 2003.

Meanwhile, Rodríguez’s two homers marked his 29th and 30th of the season, putting him just two short of tying his career high and six steals away from achieving a coveted 30/30 season, a feat he also accomplished in 2023. He became the ninth player in Mariners history with multiple 30-home run seasons and, alongside Raleigh, one of only two players in franchise history to reach this milestone multiple times within their first four seasons.

By the end of the 2025 season—when Rodríguez’s biggest hope is to secure a playoff spot—his Baseball Reference page will highlight yet another productive year. But it wasn’t guaranteed from the start.

When he was named an All-Star reserve on July 6, he had only 11 home runs in 89 games, and his 0.695 OPS was the lowest among all selected players. Since then, he has been the Mariners’ most productive player—including ahead of Raleigh—and one of the best in baseball.

In the following 52 games, Rodríguez hit 19 home runs (third most in MLB), drove in 43 runs (tied third), scored 40 runs (tied fifth), and posted a 0.960 OPS (seventh). According to FanGraphs, as of Friday, his WAR was 2.6 (sixth) and wRC+ was 158 (tenth, with league average at 100). All these stats lead the Mariners.

“Honestly, I happened to see the All-Star Game was here, and I talked about it a little,” Rodríguez said about the All-Star Game. “But I don’t regret it at all. I don’t regret it because I think it put me in a better mindset, in a better position to be myself and perform at my best.”

The center fielder also shined defensively, sprinting to left-center field to make an impressive running catch, preventing his 2022 Rookie of the Year rival Michael Harris II from hitting an extra-base hit, and helping Bryce Miller record the third out in the third inning.

Rodríguez ranks tied for seventh among MLB outfielders with 8 Outs Above Average (OAA), while Harris follows closely with 7 OAA, ranking tenth. Rodríguez said it’s even sweeter when highlight-worthy plays are made against other top defenders.

“I know he understands how it feels when someone takes away a ball you hit into the gap,” Rodríguez said. “That’s why I just said, ‘No, I did the same to you.’”