SEATTLE -- Tensions were high during the bottom of the eighth on Sunday afternoon between the Mariners and Rangers, but they never reached a tipping point.

And Randy Arozarena was front-and-center for all of it.

Seattle¡¯s slugging left fielder crushed a punctuating 429-foot homer in the seventh inning of a 7-0 win but was hit by a pitch in his next at-bat, prompting most within the home dugout to race to the top step.

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Arozarena, however, immediately threw his right hand toward his teammates as a gesture to halt, calming the situation before taking first base. Julio Rodr¨ªguez and J.P. Crawford, in particular, were seen among the first to reach the dirt, but they never walked further toward the playing surface after Arozarena tempered things.

¡°It means a lot that they were ready to defend me,¡± Arozarena said through an interpreter.

Arozarena, who only recently joined the Mariners at the Trade Deadline, said postgame that he didn¡¯t think the 93.2 mph fastball from reliever Gerson Garabito that hit his left elbow was on purpose.

¡°Not really,¡± Arozarena said. ¡°I mean, the situation was a 2-2 count. I think he just tried to throw a sinker a little closer to me. I mean, it hit me, but I don't think it was intentional.¡±

But there was nonetheless build-up to that point after his big homer, specifically from Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, who was seen shaking his head and saying something to Arozarena and a few Mariners players while walking toward the home on-deck circle, where Arozarena hoisted Seattle¡¯s celebratory home run trident.

Before crossing the plate, Arozarena took a lengthy 32.80 seconds to round the bases (23.85 is MLB average), which came after he thrust his bat down the line in an emphatic celebration.

From the vistor's clubhouse, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy downplayed the situation.

"You know what? I don't get caught up in this stuff anymore,¡± said Bochy, who's been in professional baseball in some capacity for nearly 50 years. ¡°That's part of the game, it seems like, today, and he had a good time with it.

"He got hit. I don't think [Garabito's] going to wait until the fifth or sixth pitch. He's trying to go in there. It happens in baseball. We got hit in this series, too. So he went down the line and it was over. I didn't see a big deal about it."

A lot of Arozarena¡¯s jubilation was tied to achieving a 20/20 season on that big swing, having already stolen 20 bases. He joined Cleveland¡¯s Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez as the only player to do so in each of the past four seasons, and he¡¯s spoken throughout the season as that being his most paramount individual goal in 2024.

¡°I've done it three consecutive times, and I wanted to see if I could do it a fourth time,¡± Arozarena said. ¡°That was the reason why I set this goal.¡±

Mitch Garver, who was behind Arozarena in the lineup, had an up-close vantage point and a unique lens, given that he played with Heim from 2022-23 in Texas. Garver was Heim¡¯s backup catcher and the Rangers¡¯ primary designated hitter during their run to last year¡¯s World Series title.

¡°I think it's diffused,¡± Garver said. ¡°I mean, we're playing for something right now. And they're the reigning world champions and maybe they took offense to Randy hitting that home run or however he did it. But we know what the bigger picture is here.¡±

Arozarena echoed Garver in wanting to move on quickly, given that the Mariners¡¯ playoff hopes cannot afford injuries or suspensions from a potential physical altercation.

¡°Especially me being the one they hit, I could be the one being suspended,¡¯ Arozarena said. ¡°So I know how important the few games we have [left], just trying to qualify. So I just tried to keep everybody calm.¡±

These teams meet again next weekend in Arlington, but by all indications, they¡¯ve put everything from Sunday¡¯s incident behind them.