Mariners Moose Tracks, 9/1/24: Julio Rodríguez , Tommy Pham, and Anthony Rizzo

It’s Sunday, and if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Links.

In Mariners news...

• Don’t look now but Julio is entering late-season form. Also Robles tried so hard to play off how hard that slide was and his helmet simply would not let him off the hook.

• This play being the prelude to a dramatic Mariners win in extra inni- hang on.... ah well it’s still a cool play.

• I’d probably have to flip a coin to choose between 5 and 1 otherwise I’m going to be standing in the aisle with crippling indecision until people start yelling at me. 1 might get the edge just because you could also chat across the aisle with Bryan and Bryce if you wanted to between Dave stories, and you could probably stretch out enough to say hi to Tucker if you wanted it badly enough, but taking Luke Raley out of the equation isn’t ideal. It’s a win-some-lose-some situation. I think if you’re limited to talking to only the people in your section it’s between 1 and 4 because Bryan and Bryce would be some of the best in-flight entertainment imaginable.

Around the league...

• What’s the old phrase? Something about spending money to make money? I don’t know, sounds like hogwash to me.

• The Kansas City Royals claimed Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers from the Cardinals and Rangers, respectively. Both players would be eligible for the Royals playoff roster if the team can make it.
• In addition to their waiver claims, the Royals also traded cash to the Braves in exchange for infielder Yuli Gurriel. Gurriel hasn’t played a game yet in the majors this season and was thus eligible to be acquired via trade despite the passing of the deadline. Kansas City is clearly hoping that an influx of veterans with World Series experience can help the team stay hot in September, and potentially into October.
• After an early exit from his start on Friday, the Dodgers officially placed Clayton Kershaw back on the IL with a bone spur in his toe. There is currently no estimate on when he’ll return.
• The Yankees will be activating Anthony Rizzo from the IL today, and optioning Ben Rice as part of the corresponding move. Rice went on a brief, but torrid run after getting called up by the Yankees in June, but has since cooled all the way off and the Yankees are on the hunt for anyone that can support Soto and Judge in the lineup.
• The Nationals called up infielder Darren Baker yesterday morning. The son of Dusty Baker, you know him as the little lad that got swept up by J.T. Snow at home plate in the 2002 World Series.
• Easily the most unbelievable stat I’ve seen in a long time, not the least of which is because of who tweeted it, but I’ll be damned, it’s true.