Although he abruptly exited his third game back from the injured list on Monday, Seattle Mariners star outfielder Julio Rodriguez didn’t sustain an injury in their 8-0 home defeat of the Cincinnati Reds.

Instead, it was simply what Mariners manager Dan Wilson deemed a precautionary move after Rodriguez was hit in the left leg by an errant throw while legging out a run-scoring infield single in the fifth inning.

“He’s good,” Wilson said. “Julio busting down the line, got the ball off the leg. We kinda had to make a quick decision and just thought that it was the best moment there (to take him out) just coming off what he’s coming off of to get him out and see how he is tomorrow. … Kinda hit the bag hard and the ball hit him, and it was just a good moment there to make a decision to give him a minute.”

Rodriguez hit a chopper between third and short that shortstop Elly De La Cruz backhanded. He double-clutched before making a throw that eluded first baseman Sal Stewart and struck Rodriguez.

Rodriguez returned to the lineup Saturday after being on the 7-day concussion list since July 2 when he was hit in the back of the helmet by a throw while sliding into second base. He’s 2-for-11 with two RBIs in his first three games back.

Wilson also shared postgame that Seattle infielder J.P. Crawford, who was scratched from the lineup shortly before Monday’s game, is day-to-day with wrist soreness

–Field Level Media

Zack Wheeler and Justin Wrobleski headline a star-studded pitching matchup Tuesday when the Philadelphia Phillies continue their home series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wheeler (10-1, 2.13 ERA) has enjoyed a terrific season despite getting a late start to it due to a blood clot in his shoulder. He blanked the Detroit Tigers over six innings in his most recent outing, allowing just two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts on July 12.

In fact, the veteran right-hander has punched out double-digit batters in all three of his starts this month, totaling 34 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

This is Wheeler’s first start of the second half. He initially was left off the National League All-Star team and then turned down a spot as a replacement on the squad.

“They disrespected me, so I’m not going to participate,” Wheeler said at the time. “I don’t need a pity party. I don’t need somebody saying, ‘He’s had major surgery. Look at him now.’ I don’t need that.”

Across the diamond, Wrobleski (10-2, 2.69) gladly accepted a spot on the NL squad after scuffling for most of his first two MLB seasons. The lefty, who turned 26 last week, pitched two innings in the Midsummer Classic — which took place in Philadelphia — and allowed a long home run to Miguel Vargas but also struck out five.

“You want to be an All-Star,” Wrobleski said earlier this month. “It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal.”

In his most recent start, Wrobleski limited the Colorado Rockies to one run over seven innings on July 7. That was the same line that he posted in his only career start against the Phillies, on May 29 of this season.

Wheeler, meanwhile, is 3-3 with a 4.57 ERA in eight career starts against the Dodgers.

Philadelphia opened the series with a 10-7 victory on Monday behind Trea Turner’s two homers and five RBIs. He also committed an error and made two other misplays at shortstop, contributing to multiple rallies by Los Angeles.

“Trea’s our guy,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Trea works every day, so it’s not like he’s out there and doesn’t care about defense. … He’s working every day, so we ride with Trea.”

Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper and Derek Hill also homered for the Phillies.

Mookie Betts launched a pair of home runs for the Dodgers as part of a four-hit showing in a losing effort.

“That was certainly a nice silver lining for tonight,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “All of his at-bats were really good. … I just saw that fire tonight. The good conviction in the swings.”

Betts had gone 0-for-14 in his previous four games and had not recorded a multi-hit effort since July 2.

“I just think that he’s better than what he’s showing,” Roberts said. “Do I have the expectations of when he was considerably younger, playing the outfield? No, I don’t. I think that’s an unfair expectation. I have a hard time really answering what my expectation is. I just know that he helps us win baseball games.”

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Twins are on the periphery of the American League postseason race with the trade deadline approaching, three games out of the final wild-card position.

Absorbing three lopsided road losses in a three-day span, most recently a 13-4 mauling by the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, has not helped Minnesota’s chances.

Twins left-hander Kendry Rojas (1-1, 2.79 ERA) will take on Guardians lefty Parker Messick (8-5, 2.73) in the second contest of their four-game series in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Minnesota has been outscored 29-7 during its losing streak, which began with two defeats to the Chicago Cubs by a combined 16-3 margin immediately after winning seven of nine games.

The misery continued Monday, when All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan gave up a modern MLB record-tying six home runs over four innings. The Guardians clubbed seven total homers, tying their home franchise mark.

“It’s definitely frustrating and not the way you want to start a series against this team,” said Ryan, who is 1-3 over his last five starts while being the subject of trade speculation. “They beat me to the spot more times than I got them.

“It’s a tough one, right, because I’m the one that’s wearing it. It’s definitely all on me.”

While Minnesota’s bullpen has been borderline disastrous — with the exception of current closer Yoendrys Gomez — its starters have ranked in the middle of the pack in the AL all season.

That hasn’t been the case in their last three games, however, with Ryan following poor outings by Taj Bradley and Zebby Matthews, combining to allow 21 earned runs in just 12 innings for a 15.75 ERA while being tagged with three losses.

“As good as our starting pitching has been, we’ve had a lull,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “The balls were all in the middle of the plate, that’s what I saw from Joe. The way the whole night went, it’s encapsulated by the balls left over the plate.”

Rojas has made six relief appearances and two starts — the latter both no-decisions with a 1.50 ERA over six innings — since making his major league debut on April 22. He has a 1-1 record and 6.75 ERA in two bullpen outings against the Guardians.

Cleveland is one game behind the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central while Minnesota sits five games back in third. The Guardians have split four contests coming out of the All-Star break.

Rhys Hoskins and rookie Petey Halpin each had two of the team’s seven homers in the series opener while Brayan Rocchio, Travis Bazzana and Patrick Bailey also went deep on a warm evening that was conducive to hitting.

“Homers are always cool, and we all try to be the guy that starts that contagiousness,” said Hoskins, who is three homers shy of 200 in his career. “A lot of the pitches were in the middle of the plate, and you can’t miss those in this league.”

Messick, like Ryan, worked a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game that the AL won 4-0. The rookie has pitched against the Twins twice in his 26-game career, posting a 1-0 record with 16 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings.

“It was really important for the team to get off to a good start against a division rival,” said Tanner Bibee, the winning pitcher Monday. “And I feel like we did it pretty well.”

–Field Level Media