Kelenic keeps mashing, homers in 4th straight game
SEATTLE — The 414-foot blast to straightaway heart was very similar to the three that preceded it on this dwelling run streak that’s gaining considerable recognition past the Pacific Northwest. But the response and emotion from Jarred Kelenic after his newest act on Friday was way more uncooked.
It’d been two days since his 482-foot blast at Wrigley Field that drew awe from anybody who witnessed it, but in his very subsequent at-bat to open a homestand, Kelenic adopted up with a 107.4 mph shot that despatched Seattle’s dwelling crowd right into a frenzy en path to a 5-3 win over Colorado.
Leading that cost with as robust of a response as any was Kelenic, who crow-hopped dwelling plate and emphatically slapped his arms collectively whereas shouting towards his teammates, “Let’s go!” Upon submerging to the dugout, the hugs had been tighter, the high-fives slapped tougher and the smile was wider.
Kelenic has proven this unfiltered emotion earlier than, nevertheless it’s been a while — maybe not because the closing week of the 2021 season, when he and the Mariners impressed this area to “Believe.” For a participant who’s been so intentionally stoic regardless of the workforce’s greatest Spring Training efficiency and a stellar begin to the common season, Friday’s fervor confirmed that Kelenic could be permitting himself to imagine that is all actual — and sustainable.
“I’m just trying to simplify things and when you do it and it works out, it was sick,” Kelenic mentioned. “The crowd’s reaction was sick. I would say that’s kind of why you probably saw a lot of emotion.”
Kelenic turned the primary Mariner to homer in 4 straight since Tom Murphy from Aug. 13-20, 2019, and if he homers on Saturday, he’d be a part of Richie Zisk, Alex Rodríguez, Jay Buhner (twice) and Nelson Cruz (twice) as the one others to homer in 5 straight. The franchise greatest is eight straight — which is additionally the MLB document — co-held by none apart from Ken Griffey Jr., who did so in 1993 when he was 23 years previous, the identical age as Kelenic.
“He loves playing baseball, and different guys show it in different ways,” supervisor Scott Servais mentioned. “Julio [Rodríguez] has always got a smile on his face, he’s kind of joking around. And Jarred is super intense, and that’s Jarred, and when he’s in a good spot, that’s what he’s doing.”
Also of observe: Kelenic was within the lineup in opposition to a lefty starter for the primary time this season, underscoring the belief that Servais has in driving the new bat. The Mariners entered the 12 months with pronounced platoon plans for Kelenic, who made simply 10 of his 39 begins final 12 months in opposition to lefties. For his profession, his OPS in opposition to lefties (.464) was drastically beneath his mark in opposition to righties (.712).
On Friday in opposition to Colorado’s Austin Gomber, whom the Mariners chased after simply 3 2/3 innings, Kelenic additionally ripped a 107.9 mph double into the right-field nook within the fourth inning and scored when Julio Rodríguez adopted with a hustle double and a nifty slide.
“It’s no different — right-handed, left-handed,” Kelenic mentioned. “To me, it’s just being on time for the fastball is the most important thing, and if I can do that, usually I’ll hit the ball hard.”
Of Kelenic’s 15 hits this season, 9 have been for additional bases, which has led to a slash line of .366/.422/.780 (1.202 OPS). Among certified hitters, his slugging proportion ranks second in MLB and his 233 wRC+ (league common is 100) ranks third. He entered the evening with a 61.5% hard-hit price (something 95 mph or greater) that led the Mariners and ranked ninth in MLB.
Yet together with his overhauled swing and method — with a deal with staying center of the sphere and never swinging out of his sneakers — his mechanics appear so seamless.
“That’s what it looks like, and I’m actually swinging hard,” Kelenic mentioned. “It’s not like I’m not swinging hard — like, I am swinging hard. But I just think that like where I’m catching the ball, I’m catching it in a consistent bat path, and that’s what is making it look really effortless.”
It’s unclear when the Mariners would possibly face one other lefty starter, and Servais quashed the concept of shifting Kelenic up from the Nos. 5-7 spots within the lineup. But as his feats develop higher, the ascent from one in all MLB Pipeline’s former posterboys — who stumbled so mightily in his first two years — is turning into one in all baseball’s most intriguing storylines.
