Julio Rodriguez steals the show, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wins Home Run Derby

SEATTLE – When his last swing of the bat was finished, one of the handful that didn’t produce a home run, an exhausted Julio Rodriguez, flung his black and yellow custom bat into the air, and looked at T-Mobile Park crowd, all standing, all cheering and all in awe of what they’d just seen.

In his first round matchup against two-time champion Pete Alonso, he’d just set a new derby record with 41 dingers in one round, eclipsing the previous record of 40, in front of a multitude of Mariners fans.

The adrenaline from his accomplishment and the roaring ovation from a crowd of 46,952 surged through him, producing a genuine reaction of emotion. Rodriguez screamed and flexed.

His house. His city.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t his event to win.

For the second straight year, Rodriguez provided a captivating performance in the home run derby only to fall short of winning it.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who previously held the single-round record of 40 homers, defeated an exhausted-looking Rodriguez in the semifinals 21-20 and outlasted Randy Arozarena in the finals, 25-23.

Guerrero, who finished second to Alonso, in 2019 took home the title by being consistent and doing just enough to win each of the three matchups.

Arozarena had a chance to win the title or at least force a swing-off, hitting second in the finals. He had 21 homers going into the bonus round. But he fell short, hitting just two in the final 30 seconds.

Guerrero’s father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., won the derby in 2007 makin the duo the first father-son combo to win titles.

Guerrero and several members of his family wearing his teal All-Star jersey celebrated wildly as the clock expired.

The derby got off to an entertaining start when Arozarena defeated Adolis Garcia, 24-17 to set an early pace.

But the energy in T-Mobile Park ratcheted up when Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman stepped to the plate to hit first in the second first-round matchup.

Born and raised in the Portland area, Rutschman drew plenty of cheers from being a product of the Pacific Northwest.

And then provided a unique performance that earned him a standing ovation.

With his father, Randy, pitching to him, Rutschman, a switch-hitting catcher who finished runner to Rodriguez in last seasons American League rookie of the year voting, blasted 21 homers in the three-minute regulation period while hitting left-handed. The only player that wasn’t a pure right-handed hitter in the competition, he peppered the former Hit it Here Café, which was serving as an auxiliary press box and even put one in the suites above it.

When the three minutes were up, Rutschman had earned a one-minute bonus round.

Instead of returning to first-base side of home plate for the bonus period, Rutschman turned around to bat right-handed. The protective L screen was moved slightly for his father and Rutschman showed it was a wise decision when he smashed six homers in one minute to leave the crowd on its feet at the unique dynamic.

Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox crushed that vibe with frightening ease. Using an impossibly simple swing that seemed to require minimal effort, Robert hit 27 in the first round and then won the matchup 20 seconds into the one-minute bonus with a homer.

The other first-round matchup featured the most lopsided outcome with Guerrero Jr. easily defeating Mookie Betts, 26-11.

Not known for being a power hitter and the only participant under 200 pounds — Betts weighs about 180 pounds — he admitted he wouldn’t win during Monday’s media availability and was only appeasing his wife by competing in the event.