Rainiers notes: Kelenic homers, pitching improves in road series win
Tommy Milone’s changeup frustrated and confused opposing hitters for parts of 11 major league seasons. On Thursday, the 35-year-old dominated Triple-A Sacramento hitters in a five-inning, one-hit performance.
But in 2019, Milone’s arsenal failed to fool his future manager.
On July 23 of that year, Milone was a Mariner, on the mound at T-Mobile Park to face the Texas Rangers. Batting ninth in the opposing Ranger lineup — now-Tacoma manager Tim Federowicz.
Midway through a year-long catching stint with Texas, Federowicz dug into the batter’s box and found a second-inning fastball at the top of the strike zone. He turned and drove a hard grounder up the middle, which skipped off the mound and barely missed Milone’s foot. Federowicz’s RBI single scored Logan Forsythe from second base and extended the Rangers’ lead in an eventual 7-2 win.
Milone lasted six innings that night, but conceded nine hits and six earned runs. His heavy two-pitch mix between a fastball and changeup later led to contracts with Baltimore, Atlanta, and Toronto, but the journeyman is back with Seattle’s organization in Triple-A Tacoma.
Thursday’s start was Milone’s best of the season in Tacoma’s 11-0 win. He struck out the side in the fourth inning, each of Sacramento’s batters retired via changeup. He won’t blow his fastball past opposing hitters — topping out at around 87 mph — but locates his pitches well, and deceives hitters with off-speed offerings.
Federowicz remembers his run-scoring single off Milone in 2019, but says he remembers each time the southpaw retired him, too. In 2007, the future big leaguers played summer ball together on the Chatham Athletics in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and that year, Milone took home the BFC Whitehouse Award, given to the league’s best pitcher.
“That’s his pitch,” Federowicz said, referencing Milone’s changeup. “He painted the fastball, and then he threw his changeup. I’ve faced him multiple times. It’s a tough at-bat even though he’s only throwing in the mid-80s.
“He’s a great guy to have on the staff. He’s great for the younger players. It’s great to just teach guys that it’s not about what you have. It’s about how well you can pitch.”
Milone struck out six and walked none. In 10 total innings for Tacoma this season, he’s conceded four hits and one earned run, which came on a solo homer on May 7.
He’s also 170 days older than manager Federowicz, now 40 games into his first season as manager after hanging up the cleats last offseason. Lefty pitcher Fernando Abad is the only player on Tacoma’s active roster older than Milone.
“It’s really cool, just being able to relate with the guys now as a manager versus as a player,” Federowicz said. “I don’t really see much difference, other than the fact that I get to pull (Milone) if he’s not pitching well.”
Milone (1-0, 0.90 ERA) earned Thursday’s win, though run support in the 11-0 rout wouldn’t arrive until the top of the sixth inning. In that frame, Erick Mejia crushed a three-run homer to right field that put the Rainiers ahead, 3-0. Newcomer Jarred Kelenic homered later in the seventh, and infielder Zach Green continued his strong month with a two-run blast in the eighth.
The win was Tacoma’s second in three games to kick off a six-game set with the rival River Cats, San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate. Stuart Fairchild, Kevin Padlo, and Donovan Walton — all traded to the Giants earlier this season from Seattle’s organization — faced their former team.
Tacoma won Tuesday’s series opener, 8-3, but Sacramento evened the set with 5-0 victory on Wednesday. After Thursday’s thrashing, the Rainiers won their second consecutive shutout Friday, 2-0.
Sacramento’s Jason Vosler singled home Walton in the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest, snapping 25 consecutive scoreless innings tossed by Tacoma pitchers. Albeit by then, Tacoma had pounced for six runs and wound up with a 10-6 win, their fourth victory in five tries.
Amid Tacoma’s slump through April and early May, Federowicz hoped pitchers would work ahead in counts and control the strike zone, a mantra made popular by the Mariners and embraced by all squads throughout Seattle’s minor league organization.
Walk rates improved last week, down to 3.63 walks per nine innings. In April, that number was 4.21. Tacoma’s punchout rate is slightly up from an 8.32 K/9 rate in April, now at 9.41 in May.
“You give the hitter too much credit,” Federowicz said. “You feel like you have to throw tough pitches, when in reality, hitting is really hard. So the more you can stay in the zone and be around the zone, the better success you’re going to have.
“We’re just trying to let the guys understand (that) if you get ahead and stay ahead, you make life easy on yourself. We’re starting to realize it, and we can definitely see the trend.”
Tacoma dropped Sunday’s contest, 6-1, but managed to grab four of six from the River Cats — the club’s best road series to date this season. The series finale was the last game of outfielder and 2020 American League Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis’ 20-game rehab stint, in which he logged two plate appearances and went 0-for-1 with a walk.
KELENIC JOINS TACOMA
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto wants Jarred Kelenic to “have fun” playing baseball again.
Assistant general manager Justin Hollander wants the former top prospect to take a breath.
Not considered a mechanical issue in his swing by Seattle’s front office, Kelenic’s option to the Rainiers last week came with relaxed orders while the 22-year-old looks for confidence after a sustained slump at the major league level in 2022.
“He needs to play,” Federowicz said. “He’s still very young. You know, it’s important when you’re young to just kind of swing it out. You find out about yourself, and you’ve just got to keep going.”
Kelenic made his Triple-A season debut Tuesday. He was 12-for-86 (.140) with three home runs and 10 RBI in 30 games for the Mariners this season, a downtick in production from the tail end of his rookie campaign in 2021. The prized acquisition in Seattle’s Robinson Cano-Edwin Diaz deal with the Mets in 2018, Kelenic debuted for the Mariners last May and slashed .242/.321/.537 with seven homers last September in his best big league month to date.
Mariners manager Scott Servais praised Kelenic’s approach earlier this season despite a lack of results, and “multiple conversations” among the front office led to the move. It’s Kelenic’s second option to Tacoma after suffering an 0-for-42 slump with the Mariners roughly a year ago.
It’s a familiar situation for manager Federowicz, who was moved between levels frequently throughout a nine-year playing career.
“You’ve got to keep going,” he said. “It’s tough. … You realize it’s a game, and you put your best foot forward every night, and if you don’t succeed, then you move on to the next day. And I think the more he plays, the more he’ll realize that, and he’ll be better for it.”
In five games with the Rainiers last week, Kelenic finished 6-for-27 (.222) with three RBI and two walks. His strikeout rate remains high — 15 in six Triple-A games — though on Thursday, Kelenic crushed a first-pitch breaking ball 431 feet for a solo homer, which jumped off the bat at 110 mph. He added three hits Saturday, including a two-run double in the eighth that gave Tacoma a 7-1 lead.
SHORT HOPS
▪ There’s “nothing concrete” regarding the return of Kyle Lewis, who completed his 20-day rehab stint with Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday. Lewis ran the bases Saturday and logged two plate appearances Sunday.
“It’s going to be a grind for him,” Federowicz said. “I think he’s starting to realize that. The major knee surgery he had ... he’s not going to feel the same anymore. … It’s going to be a constant process for him, but he’s in good spirits and he’s just excited to get back out there playing.”
▪ Evan White resumed game action with Tacoma last Wednesday, his first appearance for any team since May 13, 2021. The 26-year-old and 2020 AL Gold Glove winner recovered from season-ending hip flexor surgery and was later diagnosed with a sports hernia during Cactus League play in March, requiring another operation.
▪ Seattle recalled outfielder Taylor Trammell and infielder Sam Haggerty ahead of Sunday’s game at Fenway Park in Boston. Haggerty assumed the workload of infielder Abraham Toro, who sprained his shoulder Saturday and was placed on the injured list. Trammell suffered a hamstring injury running to first base on April 7 at Cheney Stadium and joined Seattle’s extended spring training in Arizona earlier this month.
▪ Tacoma starter Daniel Ponce de Leon struck out nine consecutive Sacramento hitters to begin Saturday’s start. The punchouts set a Triple-A Tacoma record and are believed to have tied a Pacific Coast League record, dating back to 1903.
▪ Corner infielder Zach Green leads Tacoma in games played (37), at-bats (148), home runs (9) and RBI (29).
ON TAP
Tacoma (15-27) returns home this week for a six-game set with Las Vegas. The Rainiers have Monday off and kick off the series at 11:35 a.m. Tuesday.
The Rainiers, currently in last place, are eight games behind Salt Lake (23-19) for tops in the PCL West.
This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
