SEATTLE -- The stage was set for Seattle¡¯s biggest star, the stakes as high as could be for an All-Star Game in his city. Two outs. Bottom of the ninth. Stepping up to the plate as the potential winning run, with the chance to smash a walk-off homer on the game's biggest non-postseason stage.

Alas, Julio Rodríguez didn¡¯t rip the long ball that everyone who packed the stands at T-Mobile Park was anticipating, but he did work a seven-pitch walk that set up the Guardians' Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez to continue the rally ... only to see J-Ram strike out to hand the American League a 3-2 loss, its first Midsummer Classic defeat since 2012.

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¡°Oh, definitely I was trying to win it, honestly,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°But given the situation, I had to pass the baton. Once I saw the guy get to first, my thought was, 'just get a good pitch to drive and let's try to win this game.' But I had to pass the baton.¡±

Even AL manager Dusty Baker was convinced that the storybook ending would write itself into reality.

¡°I was just thinking, ¡®Hey, man, he would bring the house down -- and the whole baseball world -- and the town.¡¯¡± Baker said. ¡°This was a moment that very rarely is going to happen in your life. I always wanted to play in an All-Star Game in my hometown, and it never happened. But I mean that was quite a -- it was all set up. ... I just knew it was going to happen, but it didn't.¡±

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Though it was an anticlimactic finish, the moment also could¡¯ve ended far more disappointingly, considering that Rodr¨ªguez has typically found himself pressing in the highest-stakes situations this year after thriving in them throughout his epic rookie season in 2022.

Rodr¨ªguez slowing things down and not swinging at ball four on an off-plate fastball from Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel with a full count was precisely the type of approach that the Mariners have wanted to see from Rodr¨ªguez in Year 2.

¡°It meant the world just kind of having the opportunity to kind of step [up to] the plate again with a chance to do something special,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°The crowd knew, everybody kind of felt it in the building, and it was pretty surreal, the energy that they were sending down.¡±

Rodr¨ªguez struck out against Giants closer Camilo Doval in his first at-bat in the seventh inning, capping an otherwise quiet night for the hometown star.

Teammate George Kirby pitched the fourth inning, surrendering a leadoff double to the Dodgers' J.D. Martinez in a 1-2 count off a hanging breaking ball, then a first-pitch RBI single to Miami's Luis Arraez before getting out of the inning when Arraez was caught stealing.

Luis Castillo, who thought he had a chance to start the game, wound up not pitching at all, though Baker said there was a reason behind that.

¡°I had his manager sitting right next to me,¡± Baker said of Seattle¡¯s Scott Servais, evoking laughter. ¡°You know what I mean? So he was kind of in an emergency situation. That's the only reason. He pitched [on Saturday] against us in our ballpark.¡±

So, while the Mariners¡¯ three All-Stars didn¡¯t provide star-studded production, it was still a huge day for them -- especially in their own city.

¡°Oh, my God, it was unbelievable,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°That was an unbelievable feeling. I would say we¡¯ve had the playoff games, all that, but there was just something different of having, like, an event-based crowd. It was just unbelievable to have all the stars here and the energy that the fans brought, like it was unbelievable what they did. Seattle definitely showed out.¡±