Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis is ‘locked in,’ belts 2 homers in first intrasquad game
Justin Dunn was supposed to be Kyle Lewis’ ride home from T-Mobile Park on Friday evening.
But, that was before Lewis, in his first intrasquad at-bat, turned on a fastball from Dunn and planted it in the Seattle Mariners bullpen in left field.
“He’s probably going to be walking home today,” Dunn joked with reporters on a video call after wrapping up his start. “Either that, or he’s not getting food.”
Lewis said he could figure out another way home if he had to.
“Maybe I’ve got to Uber or something,” he joked. “We’ll see.”
Both Dunn and Lewis enjoyed facing each other in Friday’s six-inning intrasquad game, which ended in a 3-3 tie, featured every player in their powder blue spring training jerseys, half innings that sometimes lasted three outs — and other times one, two or four — and situational drills that ended each pitcher’s day.
“It was cool to go up against him,” Lewis said. “We’ve been playing MLB The Show long enough, trying to see what each other was going to throw. He went with two sliders and then fastball in, so we’ve been talking about (sequencing) a lot.
“It was kind of cool to be able to kind of go back and forth. We’ll be able tot talk about that later on, so it’s cool.”
The two have talked so much about pitch sequencing, Dunn joked maybe Lewis knew the fastball was coming, but he also knows what Lewis is capable of, and he’s seen it this first week in summer camp.
“I’ve seen Kyle be Kyle,” Dunn said. “That’s what he is. I call him Showtime. Superstar. He’s that type of player. He has that type of potential. Every time he’s on the field it’s going to be something special to watch, and he looks a lot more balanced a lot more in control a lot more confident.”
Lewis launched two home runs Friday — the first off Dunn and the second to right center off Nick Margevicius, putting on display again his power to all fields — and hit two more home runs during live batting practice sessions earlier this week.
“Dude’s locked in right now,” said Mariners pitcher Justus Sheffield, who started for Lewis’ team Friday. “On and off the field, you can just tell he’s locked in. I feel like he’s going to have a really big year for us this year.
“He’s always had the talent and he’s really starting to put it together. It’s really good to see Kyle going through that right now. Hopefully he can just keep it going through this summer camp and keep it pushing through the season.”
Lewis, the No. 10 prospect in Seattle’s organization, continues to build on a record-breaking debut last September, when he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to homer in six of his first 10 games, including each of his first three.
His 457-foot blast off Cincinatti’s Lucas Sims on his second day in the majors was the longest Mariners home run of 2019, and he finished with six in the 18 big league games he played in.
He feels just as comfortable at the plate this summer.
“Really comfortable,” he said. “Just trying to compete and have confidence in my approach, and sticking to it and not coming off it when they try to sequence me in different ways. That’s the main thing I’ve been trying to work on — trying to hit on is being consistent with what it is that I want to do and what I’m trying to do. Being able to do that is a win.”
‘THE ENERGY WAS GREAT’
Friday’s first intrasquad game gave an idea of what regular season baseball games in Seattle could look like this year.
The stadium was empty, as it has been since workouts began, except for the players, coaches, staff and the limited number of media members credentialed to watch.
The Mariners added music and simulated crowd noise to try to make it feel more normal.
“It was weird,” Sheffield said about pitching in an empty stadium. “I really didn’t think it would be too weird, but once I got out there, no fans, all I could hear was the fan music, and especially facing your own team, it’s a little weird, but I just wanted to get my work in.”
But, for all of the oddities, the game didn’t lack intensity.
“I was pretty pumped up, pretty excited,” Sheffield said. “Definitely had the nerves flowing. It felt like a normal start, to be honest, waking up this morning and kind of trying to get back in that starter routine.
“It was definitely weird at first, but once I got between those lines everything just kind of settled back in and it was baseball.”
Lewis said he still treated every at-bat seriously, and said the game setting — as opposed to the fielding drills and live and regular BP sessions the Mariners had been participating in up to this point — gave camp a different feel.
“The energy was great,” he said. “It was exciting to put the pants back on and get out there and lace them up. Then to kind of have the music playing, and they tried to do the crowd noise thing which is kind of cool.
“It was exciting for me. The energy really was there. I felt like guys were excited to be back playing.”
SHORT HOPS
Sheffield pitched two scoreless innings, including retiring his first three batters in order in the first inning. He allowed one hit and struck out Braden Bishop to end his outing. He threw 37 pitches, including situational work. ... Dunn allowed a pair of home runs to J.P. Crawford and Lewis in the first inning and walked Austin Nola before hitting his allowed pitch count. He settled in the following inning, retiring the three batters he faced, including striking out both Jake Fraley and Patrick Wisdom. He threw 43 pitches. ... Crawford logged the first home run of Mariners intrasquad play, sending a 2-1 fastball from Dunn into the seats in right center. ... Dee Gordon drove in a pair of runs with a single in the fourth, and Evan White followed up with a RBI single that score another. ... Tim Lopes finished 3-for-3 with a double and two singles. ... Relievers Margevicius, Brandon Brennan, Taylor Williams, Sam Delaplane, Nestor Cortes Jr., Yohan Ramirez, Taylor Guilbeau and Carl Edwards Jr. each threw an inning, though some were modified. Brennan and Cortes both retired all four batters they faced. ... The Mariners’ two sides for Friday’s game were named the Steelheads and Pilots.
ON TAP
The Mariners’ second intrasquad game will begin at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert and No. 11 prospect Brandon Williamson are scheduled to start.
