SEATTLE -- Another sold-out crowd went into its customary "Ju-lio!" chant in Sunday's eighth inning, but this one felt louder, deeper, more desperate, almost as if you could feel the anticipation that comes from 24 years without a playoff home win in his city. Julio Rodriguez , the Seattle Mariners ' beloved center fielder and one of the sport's best producers over these last three months, responded by hitting the line drive that drove in Cal Raleigh for the go-ahead run, then arrived at second base, punched the frigid October air, flexed for 47,371 T-Mobile Park fans and, mostly, fed off their energy.

"I kind of looked around a little bit," Rodriguez said after powering a nail-biting, 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers . "I could see everybody jumping around, and that made me

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