SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez was out of the starting lineup Monday night and is considered day-to-day with what manager Scott Servais labeled a “mild ankle sprain.”
Rodriguez suffered the injury in the sixth inning Sunday when he jumped for a long drive hit by Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and crashed into the wall. He twisted his ankle on the padding of the wall in center field, grabbed his ankle in pain and remained on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field with Servais and trainer Taylor Bennett.
Rodriguez underwent an MRI on Monday afternoon. After his team’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Servais said there is no real timetable for Rodriguez’s return to the starting lineup. He said before the game that the team would be cautious with the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year.
“Julio’s doing OK,” Servais said pregame. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed that we escaped a really bad injury and hopefully he’s not out too long.”
Rodriguez has taken off at the plate lately following a slow start to the season, batting .459 with four homers and eight RBIs over his past 12 games, with a .524 on-base percentage and 1.389 OPS.
Also Monday, Seattle shortstop J.P. Crawford suffered a hairline fracture in his right pinky when he was hit in the hand by a pitch in the first inning. He is likely bound for the injured list.
“Adversity hits at different times, and we’re looking at it right now,” Servais said. “We’ll find out a lot about our club and any guys that step up. J.P. was out earlier in the season for awhile. We had guys step up, and that’s what we’re going to need guys to do right now.”
Crawford, 29, is batting .204 with a .299 on-base percentage, a .347 slugging percentage, nine homers and 32 RBIs in 77 games this season.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
