BALTIMORE — The Baltimore bandit, anyone?
Julio Rodriguez spun around, leaped high at the wall and stole a home run away from the Orioles’ Anthony Santander in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday night, the second home-run robbery for the Mariners star center fielder at Camden Yards in the past year.
“I saw the ball kind of die, so I was like, ‘Oooh, I gotta get this one,’” Rodriguez said. “And I just jumped up as high as I could and just made that catch. It was pretty cool.”
On June 24, 2023, Rodriguez had the first robbery of his career here, stealing what would have been a two-run homer from the Orioles’ Ryan O’Hearn.
Last August, Rodriguez had a memorable home-run robbery of San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. at T-Mobile Park. Rodriguez fooled everyone after coming down with the catch, keeping the ball hidden in his glove until finally revealing he’d made the catch — leading to some playful exchanges with Tatis.
On Friday night, Santander launched a 406-foot blast to straightaway center field off the Mariners’ Bryce Miller. Rodriguez timed his jump perfectly and hauled in the catch, then flashed his “No Fly Zone” sign, much to the chagrin of the home crowd.
“[Santander] was telling me before the game, ‘Hey, don’t be doing some stuff out there,’ and I said, ‘I can’t guarantee you anything,'” Rodriguez said.
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