Rainiers notes: Lewis hits 464-foot homer on season’s 1st swing, Brash debuts in bullpen
Salt Lake outfielder Monte Harrison could only turn to watch the 464-foot blast carry well beyond the outfield grass, and fans hopeful for the souvenir were out of luck.
One man pursued the ball from the outfield berm, only to learn that Kyle Lewis’ solo home run had left Smith’s Ballpark, now a hazard for drivers on South Main Street.
In his first Triple-A plate appearance — and on his first swing — Lewis, the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year, crushed a no-doubt first-inning home run for the Rainiers on his way to a 3-for-5 performance Tuesday night in Salt Lake. He scored twice and drove in another three runs.
“You can tell he’s having a lot of fun,” Rainiers manager Tim Federowicz said. “I don’t even think he was expecting that (home run). But, he’s just such a really good hitter, a pure hitter.
“It doesn’t take much to get him going.”
Nearly a year ago, Lewis tore his meniscus with the Mariners after landing awkwardly from a jump in the outfield at T-Mobile Park. He underwent surgery in June, and aimed for a late-season return. A setback in early September suffered in baserunning drills foiled that plan, and Seattle shut down the budding star with hopes of a more healthy return in 2022.
Tuesday marked his first game action this year.
Lewis went 0-for-2 on Wednesday, but reached base once via walk. He sat out Thursday’s game, and was a late scratch Friday, considered normal protocol for Lewis’ 20-day rehab stint, Federowicz said.
In three games for Tacoma last week, the 26-year-old posted a .353/.389/.765 slash line with two home runs and six RBI. On Saturday, Lewis poked an opposite-field home run over the right field fence at Smith’s.
“I know he was excited to get back on the field and to be playing again,” Federowicz said. “We’re looking forward to the rest of his rehab assignment, and getting to watch him even more.”
Tacoma went on to win a slugfest Tuesday against the Bees, 13-11. Catcher Cal Raleigh — now back with the Mariners after being recalled Saturday — drove in three on a third-inning home run, and Steven Souza Jr. added a solo homer in the same frame.
That was Tacoma’s lone win before Sunday, when the Rainiers jumped on Salt Lake, 14-11. The victories bookended four straight losses in the six-game set, beginning Wednesday — 3-2, 8-1, 9-5 and 13-12, respectively.
The Rainiers (9-21) rank sixth of 10 in the Pacific Coast League in runs scored (160), but are last in the West Division standings. They’re eight games behind first-place Las Vegas (17-13).
And Tacoma has allowed the most runs in the PCL with 220, four more than next-to-worst Albuquerque (216).
“I think we can do a little bit better job pitching,” Federowicz said, “and just staying ahead of hitters. I think it’s a big thing we need to get better at. Hopefully, the next few days and going into the next homestand, we’ll be able to get that ironed out.”
BRASH MAKES TACOMA DEBUT FROM BULLPEN
Matt Brash began his weekend with more than a new team.
He’s no longer a starter, at least for now.
Seattle’s fifth starter was optioned to the Rainiers on Thursday, assigned a new role as a reliever out of the bullpen.
Acquired by Seattle on Sept. 17, 2020, in a deal that sent reliever Taylor Williams to San Diego, Brash earned the call-up to the big leagues following a fantastic spring training. The pandemic wiped away his 2020 season, but Brash, 24, raised eyebrows with 142 strikeouts across 91 1/3 innings between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas in 2021.
Brash — still Seattle’s sixth-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline — won the team’s fifth rotation spot after 9 1/3 innings of one-run baseball in three spring training appearances, effectively skipping the Triple-A ranks.
MLB.com’s David Adler dubbed Brash “the nastiest pitcher you don’t know yet.”
But Brash’s “stuff” — rather, his mid-90s fastball and breaking balls that spin at a rate as good as anyone else in baseball — weren’t to blame for the rookie’s early struggles in Seattle. Even his 2022 whiff rate ranked among the top third of pitchers in the majors, his slider ranking as his best pitch in that category (34.9 percent).
Instead, Brash couldn’t command what he possessed. He walked 7.7 batters per nine innings in his five big-league starts. That number ballooned from 4.4 in the minors last season.
When Brash fell behind in counts as breaking balls fell to the dirt, hitters waited for prime fastball offerings. He posted a 1-3 record and 7.65 ERA in 20 innings of work. The 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings Brash posted in 2021 fell to 8.6.
“I’m (not) throwing enough strikes to get chases,” he said last week.
Similar to the path starter-turned-closer Edwin Diaz took in Seattle’s organization five years ago, Brash entered Tacoma’s bullpen and plans to rejoin the major league club in the same role. It’s not a permanent change, but more of a trial period that allows him to appear more frequently and as early as this season, Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
“I just think he needs a reset,” Servais added after the move. “He had some bright moments. He had some darker moments.
“The stuff is certainly capable of getting major league hitters out. We’ve seen it when it’s on. But you’ve got to throw strikes, and you’ve got to throw them consistently.”
Federowicz spoke to Brash about the transition, and said he planned to use the rookie in a high-leverage, two-inning outing that bridges the gap to the closer.
“We’re still trying to figure out what that exactly looks like,” Federowicz said. “But Triple-A is an important level for these guys to experience. … I think it’s gonna be great for him.”
That debut came Sunday for Brash, who entered the sixth inning with a two-run cushion and allowed one earned run across two innings of work. Salt Lake’s Brendon Davis ripped a 3-1 fastball over the right field wall for a sixth-inning solo homer, the only run scored throughout Brash’s first Triple-A appearance.
Brash’s final line — two innings, two hits, one run (earned), with two walks and three strikeouts. Brash threw 40 pitches, 23 of them strikes.
SHORT HOPS
▪ INF Zach Green posted an eight-game hitting streak that ended Wednesday, a season-long for the club. He leads Tacoma with 30 hits, 22 RBI, and six home runs, and co-leads the team in runs (15) and doubles (seven).
▪ Seattle optioned LHP Justus Sheffield to Tacoma on May 2, when major league rosters shrunk from 28 players to 26. He made his Tacoma season debut Friday, allowing four runs and a pair of homers across two innings of work. Sheffield, 25, allowed just one hit in 4 1/3 innings of relief for the Mariners in April, and hadn’t pitched since April 27.
“I mean, he’s just a little rusty,” Federowicz said. “He didn’t get too many reps, too many innings up in the big leagues this year. … We don’t look into that last start (Friday) at all.”
▪ Raleigh appeared in seven games for Tacoma between April 29 and May 6 before returning to Seattle on May 7. He posted a .286 batting average (8-for-28), and brought major league catching experience with him, appreciated by fellow catcher Federowicz: “He can bring a different perspective to the game, and how they call pitches and game plan up in the big leagues, which ultimately will help our guys here.”
▪ The Rainiers haven’t won consecutive games this season. With Sunday’s 14-10 win, Tacoma can grab back-to-back wins with a victory at home Tuesday against Reno.
ON TAP
Tacoma gets Monday off and will return home to Cheney Stadium for a six-game home stand with the Diamondbacks-affiliate Reno Aces.
Lewis makes his Triple-A home debut on Tuesday at 11:35 a.m., when the Rainiers aim for their 10th win of the season.
