Rodríguez puts Mariners on his back, into playoff hunt

PHOENIX — The Seattle Mariners were mostly sellers at the trade deadline three weeks ago, dealing closer Paul Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a move signaling that this year probably wouldn’t end in the postseason.

Julio Rodríguez had other ideas.

The young All-star recently finished a four-day stretch for the ages, setting an MLB record with 17 hits in those four games and helping to push the Mariners back into the American League playoff race.

Rodríguez went 17 for 22 in the four games from Wednesday to Saturday — all Mariners wins — raising his batting average from .256 to .278 in the process. Seattle finished a sweep over the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on Sunday, holding on for the 7-6 win.

The Mariners have won 14 of their past 17 games and currently have a spot in the playoffs. They’re a half-game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL’S final wild card.

There’s still six weeks left in the regular season, but the Mariners understandably feel good about their chances to play extended October baseball.

Keeping their Witts

It’s been a brutal season for the Kansas City Royals, who are on track to lose more than 100 games this season.

Bobby Witt’s improvement is one of the few silver linings.

The young shortstop has had good moments in his first two seasons, but the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft has been a force over the past month, with a .400 batting average, eight homers, 28 RBIS and 10 stolen bases.

Rising/falling

The Red Sox always enjoy a three-game sweep over their main rival, the New York Yankees. But a threegame sweep that keeps them in contention for the AL playoff race? That’s even better.

The Red Sox have won eight of their past 11 games and continue to lurk in the AL race, sitting three games behind the Mariners for the final wild-card spot after Sunday’s games.

Speaking of the Yankees, they’re sinking in a hurry in the AL standings. They’ve lost nine of their past 10 games, putting them at 6064 overall and nine games back for the final AL playoff position. In other words, things are pretty bleak. On Sunday, they lost eight straight games for the first time since 1995.

“We got to be unbelievable the rest of the way,” manager Aaron Boone said on Sunday.