Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic homers twice, Cal Raleigh once in Rainiers debuts
The cheers sounded a bit louder each time Jarred Kelenic stepped in the batter’s box when the Rainiers opened their season Thursday night.
Many fans around the ballpark had their cell phones out, camera on, recording each pitch in anticipation.
“I was just telling the guys in the locker room, even though we lost, that’s what I missed the most — being out there in front of fans and just competing,” Kelenic said on a postgame video call. “I missed that more than anything.”
The top prospect in the Mariners’ system delivered in the fifth inning, cranking a line drive solo home run to right field in his third Triple-A at-bat to give the Rainiers their only lead at 1-0.
Though Tacoma scored again on another Kelenic homer in the seventh, a Cal Raleigh two-run homer in the 10th, a broken bat single by Jose Godoy in the 11th and a run-scoring single by Braden Bishop in the 12th, the club eventually dropped its season-opener, 7-6, to El Paso in a four-hour, 12-inning contest.
Kelenic’s performance — he finished 2-for-6 with the two home runs — in his Rainiers debut, though, provided notable highlights.
After swinging at the first pitch he saw opening the first inning for the Rainiers, grounding out to third, and lining out to right field in his second at-bat, Kelenic patiently worked a 3-0 count in his third.
Then he hammered an offering from left-hander Nick Ramirez, who the Padres optioned to Triple-A earlier in the week, over the fence. The limited capacity crowd of 2,581 rose to their feet to give Kelenic a booming ovation as he rounded the bases.
Kelenic pumped his fist toward the Rainiers dugout as he rounded third, and emphatically high-fived first-year manager Kristopher Negron before crossing home plate.
“I was pumped up just to be out there with the fans and everything,” Kelenic said. “I felt like we were a little bit slow with the bats to start the game. ... I was just trying to get guys hyped up even more.”
It seemed fitting the 21-year-old outfielder, who has long believed he is ready to make his big league debut, would be the first to homer in Cheney Stadium this spring — and in his first game at the Triple-A level.
Kelenic has generated perhaps the most hype of any Rainiers player entering the Triple-A season.
The former first-round pick by the Mets was acquired by the Mariners during the 2018 offseason as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to New York.
He wasted no time in his first season in Seattle’s system, jumping three levels of the minors, and hitting .291/.364/.540 between with 31 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs, 68 RBI and 20 stolen bases between West Virginia, Modesto and Double-A Arkansas.
The thought was he would reach Seattle in 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the minor league season. With only 92 at-bats above A-ball, the Mariners have remained committed to their plan to get Kelenic more experience facing pitching at the upper levels of the minors before they bring him to Seattle.
Kelenic’s arrival timeline was a widely discussed and scrutinized topic throughout spring training, and continues to be, as many have hoped the outfielder would be promoted by the Mariners to give a punch to their scuffling offense, which dropped a no-hitter against the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon in Seattle.
Kelenic certainly seems ready to produce — wherever he’s at. If his first home run wasn’t convincing enough, he smashed another in his next at-bat in the seventh to even the game at 2-2.
He turned on a 1-1 pitch from right-hander Mason Thompson, the No. 11 prospect in San Diego’s system, and sent another solo shot clear over the wall in right.
“I was going up my first at-bat, and I was hacking at the first pitch just to get the jitters out,” Kelenic said. “ ... We’ve been waiting a while (to play). I was excited to get out there, but after that I got dialed back in.
“I haven’t faced a live pitcher in a week or so, so I knew my timing was probably going to be a little bit shaky. I even said to Dan Wilson in the dugout after my second at-bat, I took a great swing at a pitch and just got jammed a little bit and hit the fly ball to right.
“I was like, you better look out, because I’m on it now. And sure enough, next at-bat, he throws me a fastball up and I hit that one out. And the fourth at-bat, it was a slider that just kind of hung over the plate, and the rest is history.”
Kelenic had a chance to walk off in the bottom of the ninth, coming up with two outs when the game was tied at 2-2, and worked a full count against right-hander Steven Wilson, but the Padres’ No. 17 prospect struck him out.
He later lined out to left in his final at-bat in the 12th.
“He’s young, but he’s a great player,” Negron said. “It’s really exciting to see him get off to a nice start today. … I’m really excited to see how the year unfolds for him.”
RALEIGH TIES IT IN 10TH
For a moment, it appeared the Rainiers wouldn’t make it out of the 10th. Kelenic was standing on second — extra innings always begin with a runner on second base — but groundouts from Bishop and Donovan Walton had the Rainiers down to their final out, trailing by two runs.
Then Cal Raleigh, the No. 8 prospect in Seattle’s system, stepped up.
Raleigh was hitless in his first four plate appearances, and hit by a pitch, but unloaded on a pitch from Wilson with the game on the line, and sent the two-run homer well over the fence in right center.
“I was so fired up because that tied it up,” Kelenic said. “I think we were down 4-2 there. Even when he got in the box, I was telling myself at second base, ‘Man, what if he goes deep here?’ And sure enough he got a fastball over the heart of the plate and just drove it out. I was so fired up.
“We battled. We battled all night long. It wasn’t even just then. We went into extras obviously and we battled the entire game. It was awesome.”
Raleigh’s first Triple-A blast appeared to land well up the grass hill bordering Foss High School.
“He’s a big boy,” Negron said. “He can barrel some balls up from both sides of the plate. He definitely hit that one very well.”
Raleigh finished 1-for-5, matching Kelenic with two RBI.
BULLPEN DAY
Negron, a former utility player who played in parts of six seasons in the majors, including two with the Mariners from 2018-19, noted earlier this week, when asked about his club’s reliever-heavy pitching staff, that bullpen days can be tough on hitters.
“Speaking from a hitter’s perspective, tell you what, those bullpen days you’re not the most confident jumping in the box when you’re going to see a different pitcher every time,” he said following Tuesday’s workout at Cheney Stadium.
“So I think we can use that to our advantage. It’s an intriguing challenge. I think there’s no better group than what we have here to take it on.”
For the most part, in the early innings at least, Tacoma’s collection of seven relievers that pitched Thursday night kept El Paso’s lineup off-balance. Rainiers pitchers struck out 15 while walking five and allowing the seven runs (four earned) on seven hits.
In the first start of his decade-long professional career, Paul Sewald worked a pair of hitless and scoreless innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced.
Yohan Ramirez struck out four of the eight batters he faced in two scoreless innings, and Reeves Martin followed up with two more scoreless frames.
“It’s tough to get into a rhythm when you’re getting a different pitcher almost every at-bat,” Negron said. “The guys really were pounding the zone, so I was really happy about that.”
El Paso finally broke through in the seventh, tagging Taylor Guerrieri with a pair of runs to erase Tacoma’s 1-0 lead. A wild pitch scored the tying run and Ivan Castillo singled in another.
The Chihuahuas never trailed after that point. Kelenic’s second homer tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, but Castillo singled in another run in the 10th off Domingo Tapia, and a second scored on a fielder’s choice to give El Paso a 4-2 lead.
This time it was Raleigh’s two-run blast that tied the game, but El Paso took a one-run lead in the 11th on an error. Godoy’s single to left tied the game again at 5-5 in the bottom half.
El Paso scored twice more in the 12th against Brady Lail. Castillo — who was 4-for-5 with three RBI — tripled to score a run, and Tucupita Marcano scratched across another on a sacrifice fly.
This time, the Rainiers didn’t catch up. Bishop singled in a run to make it 7-6, but Tacoma left the bases loaded as Sam Travis lined out to end the game.
“The energy was definitely high,” Negron said. “I’m really happy with how the boys came out today. A lot of good things happened. Obviously we didn’t win the game, but a lot of good things happened today.”
BACK IN THE BALLPARK
Entering Thursday night’s opener, the Rainiers hadn’t played a game in Cheney Stadium since August 2019, meaning fans hadn’t seen a minor league baseball game in Tacoma in more than 600 days.
Even though they had to endure a short rain delay before first pitch, those in attendance for opening night — Cheney Stadium is limited to 50% capacity by current health and safety protocols — seemed thrilled to be in the seats.
Olalla resident Anna Lindall, 32, and her mother, Diane, have been season ticket holders since 2017. Like many others in the stands, the two were excited for the chance to finally watch a baseball live game again.
“It’s amazing,” Anna Lindall said. “I’m so happy to be back.”
Puyallup resident Matt Snyder, 40, also made sure he was in the stands opening night, and has been checking for updates on ticket sales all spring.
His wife, Amber, 39, joked he had been pacing the house, waiting in anticipation for the game to begin.
“It was really important,” Matt Snyder said of being in attendance for the season opener. “We’ve waited so long, and didn’t have any (games) last year. I had to be here.”
Eric Johnson, 38, of University Place, and his 13-year-old son Aaron, who celebrates his birthday Saturday, were also excited just to see live baseball again — and to try to catch foul balls.
“We’re super excited,” Eric Johnson said. “We live right down the street, and this is our place to hang out.”
Many fans, like Lakewood’s Peter Kaperick, 42, a season ticket holder who was in attendance with his parents and sister, were also excited to see some of the Mariners’ young prospects play in Tacoma.
Kaperick said he hopes to see some of them heat up this season and make it to the majors.
“It’s good to be back in the park,” he said.
ON TAP
The Rainiers (0-1) host the Chihuahuas (1-0) at 7:05 p.m. Friday in the second game of this six-game opening homestand. Right-hander Logan Gilbert, the No. 4 prospect in the Mariners organization, is scheduled to make his debut for Tacoma.
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 11:19 PM.
