Julio Rodriguez credits Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr. for record-breaking year

The Seattle Mariners bounced back from two consecutive defeats to avoid a series sweep against the Reds on Wednesday.

They are involved in a three-way race in the AL West and are counting on last year's Rookie of the Year, Julio Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was recently named the AL Player of the Month after a spectacular hitting run through August. He set an MLB record after registering 17 hits in the span of just four games in August.

While the two-time All-Star had a relatively quiet outing against the Phillies in the final game of the series, he managed three homers and five RBI in the previous two games.

The Mariners, much like Rodriguez made a slow start to this year's MLB campaign. But the last two months have witnessed an incredible turnaround for both of them.

The 22-year-old credited Hall of Famer and Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr. for his own personal turnaround and labeled the 13-time All-Star as one of the greatest ever to represent the organization.

"He's always open to talk about everything," Rodríguez said. "It's really cool to have him around. I know a lot of people are always trying to compare us and say, ‘Who's going to be better?'

"But I feel like [we both] have [our] own time and I'm really grateful that I have someone in my corner to mentor me and tell me the things that I should expect along the way. It's really cool having his help. He's definitely one of the greatest players ever to play the game."

Julio Rodriguez discusses incredible run of form amid Mariners playoffs push

The 22-year-old discussed his incredible hitting streak and said he felt in control whenever he was at the plate.

"It felt like every single at-bat, I was under control with what I wanted to do," Rodríguez said. "I was bringing the right plan to the plate every time. I just felt like every time I would step up to the plate, I was in control of what I wanted to do. It felt really good."

The Mariners conceded the top spot in the AL West to reigning World Series champion Houston Astros after their series sweep against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.