Kelenic looking to prove he's turned corner

CLEVELAND -- Solid starting pitching, decent defense and just enough hitting proved to be the Mariners’ formula for success in a 3-2 win on Saturday night against the Guardians.

Sound familiar?

Seattle rode those tactics heavily en route to 90 wins in each of the past two years, and with its roster construction, it looks like that could again be the case in 2023.

“We're a new team, we're not looking back,” said Marco Gonzales, who pitched 5 2/3 solid innings. “We're trying to create our own path and find our identity within ourselves. That's part of what we do well. When we click on all cylinders, I think we're one of the best teams in the league.”

Here are other highlights from the victory that claimed Seattle’s first series win:

Kelenic’s three knocks
Jarred Kelenic’s “process” was a headlining story in Spring Training, and he finally broke out in a game that mattered with three base hits -- all of which underlined his intentional approach.

The first was a 98 mph single to right field, a play that likely would’ve been an out before MLB’s new rules curbed shift opportunities. Then in the third, he ripped a cutter off the outside corner from Cal Quantrill for a 108 mph single to the opposite field, just after he laid off a tough cutter below the zone. He capped the day by chopping a softer-hit single over Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor in the eighth on the at-bat’s first pitch.

“Sometimes you start focusing just on the result and think, ‘I want to see this ball go over the fence,' versus like, 'Let's backtrack. Let's get a good pitch to hit first,' before it starts to happen,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

For Kelenic, who had a 29.9% strikeout rate from 2021-22 (compared to a league average of 22.8% over the two-year period), is it easier to lay off tough pitches than it was in the past?

“It’s hard to tell,” Kelenic said. “Right now, I’m just really comfortable and seeing the pitches really well. But I’ve just got to keep doing it.”

Marco makes adjustments
Servais described Gonzales’ night as “vintage Marco,” featuring a strong curveball/changeup combination and dominance with his lower-velocity fastball inside.

The prime example of his precision was a fifth-inning strikeout of Mike Zunino, who crushed a three-run homer off his former batterymate last Sunday in Seattle. This time, Gonzales induced a chase on a changeup away before landing the heater for a backwards K on the inner black.

“It's vital,” Gonzales said of inside command. “My game is a steady mix of a lot of things, but controlling the inner half, especially to right-handed hitters, is very, very crucial for landing offspeed and changeups and everything else.”

Gonzales’ night ended one out shy of completing the sixth after surrendering an 0-2 double to Andrés Giménez. Still, he allowed only one run -- via a fifth-inning double from Myles Straw -- and struck out five, a mark he reached only five times in 14 second-half starts last year.

“That’s exactly what we needed,” Servais said. “It’s our only chance to win the ballgame; he’s got to get us into the sixth inning, and he did his job.”

Speier taking leverage
Penn Murfee picked up Gonzales by escaping the sixth, and Paul Sewald earned his second save while dodging a scare with the winning run on first base in the ninth.

But it was Gabe Speier -- called up after Robbie Ray was placed on the IL -- who had arguably the highest-leverage pockets. The lefty took over with one out in the seventh for Matt Festa, who couldn’t find the strike zone. Speier surrendered a double to José Ramírez then intentionally walked Josh Bell to load the bases, but he escaped by inducing a flyout and forceout. He returned for a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts, spelling Servais from turning to a taxed ‘pen.

“Probably the MVP of the game when it was all said and done was Gabe Speier,” Servais said. “What a job he did -- coming in and bailing us out and getting through the eighth inning clean like he did was huge. It allowed us to win the ballgame.”

Speier had a strong spring, but was the odd man out in the bullpen, largely due to the Mariners returning everyone from last year. Now, he’s making the most of his opportunity.