M’s finally use simpler approach for key runs in victory over White Sox

SEATTLE – After trying to pull a cutter on the outside half and shattering his bat in his first plate appearance against Chicago’s Lance Lynn, Julio Rodriguez did what the Mariners have been pushing for and what he’s been working on in recent weeks to drive in two big runs in the third inning.

With Cal Raleigh on second base and the inning kept alive by J.P. Crawford’s two-out walk, Rodriguez got a 94-mph fastball in the middle of the plate. Instead of trying to yank it into the upper deck in left field, Rodriguez stayed behind the ball with his swing, sending a pretty line drive to the gap in right-center to score both runners.

Mariners manager Scott Servais and the hitting coaches – Tony Arnerich and Jarrett DeHart – have been preaching, coaxing and cajoling Seattle’s hitters to simplify their approach with runners on base, hitting the ball from gap to gap instead of trying to launch mammoth homers.

“When you’re in games like today and when we’re coming off a tough loss like last night, you kind of need your best players to step up and get a big hit,” Servais said after Sunday’s 5-1 victory over the White Sox. “Julio got one and Jarred got one. Good for those young guys, hopefully they build off that going into this road trip.”

In the eighth inning, with the Mariners clinging to a one-run lead and looking at using closer Paul Sewald for a third straight day, Kelenic stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He’d struck out twice and popped up off Lynn. Happy to be facing Reynaldo Lopez, or anyone other than Lynn, Kelenic stayed on a 98-mph fastball away, sending a screaming line drive into the left-center gap. The ball had a 108-mph exit velocity – the hardest hit of the game.

“Just trying to get a pitch in the heart of the plate and put a good swing on it,” he said. “Honestly, I’m trying to do the same thing every single time I go up there, and it just worked out this time.”

It was the sort of swing and result that the Mariners saw early in the season from Kelenic as he got off to a torrid start. But as the league has adjusted to his new swing and approach, the young outfielder has had to also adjust to those changes. He had a .156/.283/.267 slash line over his previous 13 games. But he believes the hard hits to left-center are a sign of good things to come.

“I’m feeling good at the plate,” he said. “I’m trying to just simplify the approach, get something in the heart of the plate and get my A-swing off.”

So many strikeouts

Lynn’s 16 strikeouts against the Mariners were the most thrown by an opposing starting pitcher this season, eclipsing the 13 strikeouts by Toronto’s Kevin Gausman on April 29.

It is the third time an opposing pitcher has struck out 16 hitters against Seattle, which is second most in club history.

On April 19, 1986, Jose Rijo, who was pitching for the A’s, struck out 16 batters in a 7-2 win at the Kingdome. Rijo, who would go on to become an All-Star with the Reds, pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits with four walks and 16 strikeouts.

The other 16-strikeout game came July 23, 1984, at Angel Stadium. Angels starter Mike Witt, punched out 16 batters in a 7-1 Angels victory. Witt tossed nine innings, allowing one run on five hits with two walks.

The record of course belongs to Roger Clemens, who struck out 20 Mariners hitters April 29, 1986, at Fenway Park. Most fans have seen the non-HD footage of Clemens looking svelte and young, pumping fastballs past helpless and flailing Seattle hitters.

Clemens tossed a complete game, allowing one run on three hits with no walks and the 20 punchouts. He threw 138 pitches with 93 strikes. He had 34 swing-and-miss strikes and 27 called strikes. Phil Bradley struck out four times in the game while Ken Phelps, Ivan Calderon and Dave Henderson all took the hat trick with three strikeouts each.

Clemens would go on to win his first AL Cy Young, posting a 24-4 record with a 2.48 ERA in 33 starts. He struck out 238 batters in 254 innings pitched.

In another bit of strikeout trivia, three pitchers have struck out 15 batters in a game vs. the Mariners – Gerrit Cole, Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan. Cole, who was pitching for the Astros at the time and would win the AL Cy Young that season, did it Sept. 8, 2019.

Martinez actually accomplished the feat twice in 1999, while pitching for the Red Sox. On May 12, he struck out 15 hitters in eight innings at Fenway Park. And Sept. 4 at then-Safeco Field, he struck out 15 in eight shutout innings, allowing only two hits. Martinez won his second career Cy Young – that season, posting a 23-4 record with a 2.07 ERA. In 213 innings pitched, he struck out a whopping 313 batters with only 37 walks.

On April 24, 1978, Ryan suffered a similar fate as Lynn. He struck out 15 batters over nine innings, but he also gave up four runs on four hits and walked five batters in a 6-5 loss in 12 innings.

Gonzales getting better

Marco Gonzales played catch out to 145 feet before Sunday’s game at T-Mobile Park. But that doesn’t mean he’s moving closer to throwing off a mound in the coming days or returning to the Mariners rotation in the coming weeks.

Gonzales, who suffered a flexor strain and went on the injured list June 3, is cautiously optimistic about his rehab process. He has yet to really ramp up his intensity since resuming his throwing program. He won’t put an exact timetable on a return, understanding that it’s a day-to-day process, mentioning a recent afternoon when his forearm felt tight when he arrived at the park. He was going to push back his throwing to a day or two later, but after receiving some treatment, the forearm felt good enough to play catch later that day.

After dealing with a flexor strain in 2021 that kept him out a month and also undergoing Tommy John surgery while with the Cardinals in 2016, Gonzales knows he can’t rush back and suffer a setback or a worse injury.