How can Mariners get most out of summer camp? ‘Continue to push each other and compete,’ ace Marco Gonzales says
There were more than 45,000 people in the stands when Marco Gonzales made his first Opening Day start at T-Mobile Park last season.
There were only a few trickled around the ballpark Sunday, when the Seattle Mariners ace made his first intrasquad start of summer camp.
But, as obvious as that difference was when Gonzales jogged to the mound to pitch in an organized game in Seattle for the first time this season, he was just happy to be back on the field at all.
“It felt great,” he said during a video call with reporters after his start. “Just very, very blessed to be able to be out here again. Felt amazing to be out at the field, on the mound. A little different without anybody in the stands, but still a great feeling. …
“It’s a good challenge to be able to self-motivate and get yourself fired up, stay in the moment and really bring up the intensity.”
Gonzales, like each of the starters who have pitched in intrasquad games the past three days, worked through a pair of “innings” — in his case recording two outs in the first before reaching his pitch limit, and then retiring three batters in the second.
He faced each of the nine batters that made up the Steelheads lineup, allowing a pair of walks, a base hit and a two-run homer to Kyle Lewis on nearly 50 total pitches. He also struck out Patrick Wisdom, Zach DeLoach and Austin Shenton in order to wrap up his outing, which included four total strikeouts.
“A little bit of timing things here and there, some kinks need to be worked out, but overall felt good with the fastball,” he said. “Felt like I located most of my pitches, and it just felt good to compete again being in a game-like situation.”
Everyone in this 60-man Mariners player pool is capable of pushing each other, Gonzales said, and that competition is the best way for Seattle to prepare for the regular season.
“I think there’s been a lot of really healthy competition in this building,” he said. “I think there’s been a lot of smack talk, a lot of conversation about matchups and things like that, so I love it. I think it’s the only way we’re going to get something out of this camp is if we continue to push each other and compete.
“I hope I can do that for our hitters. I hope I can really challenge them and make them uncomfortable, because when we get in the season there’s no easy outings. We’re going to have some tough competition.”
With the season-opener in Houston less than two weeks away, and Gonzales scheduled to make his second consecutive Opening Day start, he said he’s as ready as he’ll ever be to open a season under such odd circumstances.
“I’ve spent my time very wisely in the downtime, stayed on my work, been very diligent and I want to try to take advantage of this opportunity and just go out and win some ballgames,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get in some real games and face some good competition. I think we’ve got a lot of guys who are in the same boat, a lot of guys itching to play again.”
LEWIS HOMERS AGAIN
Lewis launched his third home run of intrasquad play in the first inning. After falling behind 1-2, he crushed a fastball Gonzales left up in the zone over the fence in straightaway center.
Given the camp Lewis has had, Gonzales figured he’d be asked about that during his call with reporters.
“Let’s just say I’m glad he’s on my team, man,” Gonzales said. “This has been fun to watch. That kid is really something special. He’s got my early vote for Rookie of the Year. … We’re blessed to be able to face him right now because he’s hot and he’s giving us some real competition on the mound.”
Lewis continues to show off his power to all fields, depositing Gonzales’ fastball in front of the batter’s eye. He crunched a home run off the out-of-town scoreboard in left center against Justin Dunn during the first inning Friday, and followed it up with a shot to right center against Nick Margevicius in his second at-bat.
SHORT HOPS
No. 12 prospect Isaiah Campbell, a second-round pick out of Arkansas last year, pitched opposite Gonzales on Sunday and allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in two innings on 35 pitches. … Relievers Erik Swanson and Aaron Fletcher each tossed an “inning” to wrap up Sunday’s game. Swanson faced four batters in a scoreless frame and struck out first baseman Evan White swinging. He threw 14 pitches. Fletcher retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a base hit to Tim Lopes. He also threw 14 pitches. … Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic ripped a double down the right field line that nearly hit White. It was Kelenic’s second double in two games. … Lewis (homer), Kelenic (double), Lopes (single) and catcher Austin Nola (single) recorded the only four hits of the short contest. The Steelheads (2-0-1) remain undefeated against the Pilots (0-2-1) in intrasquad play.
ON TAP
The Mariners will play their fourth intrasquad game Monday, beginning at 2:45 p.m. The game is currently scheduled to last seven innings with starter Taijuan Walker scheduled to pitch. The game will be streamed live on the Mariners YouTube channel.
