There were no reports of water coolers being harmed after Jarred Kelenic struck out to end Tuesday’s game in Seattle.
Which shows how far the Atlanta Braves’ 24-year-old outfielder has come in the past year.
Kelenic and the Braves will wrap up a three-game interleague series Wednesday afternoon against Seattle, trying to salvage the finale after a pair of one-run losses to the surging Mariners.
Kelenic spent three up-and-mostly-down seasons in Seattle before being traded to the Braves in a salary dump last December.
The low point came last July when he suffered a self-inflicted fractured foot after kicking a cooler in the home dugout out of frustration. He missed nearly two months, and the Mariners narrowly fell short of a playoff berth.
“It feels like just yesterday when I was sitting over there crying in front of you guys talking about when I broke my foot,” Kelenic said before the series opener.
“And I feel like ever since then, I’ve grown so much, just as a person and a player, really, for the better. But as a baseball player, I felt like I went through a lot of ups and downs here. I mean, a lot of emotional roller coasters. Everybody saw it. But I think when I look back at my time (here), I appreciate the good times even more.”
Kelenic is batting .303 in 23 games this season, though he’s still looking for his first homer and has just four RBIs.
Batting ninth for the Braves provides less stress than he faced in Seattle, where the former first-round pick never reached expectations after being the centerpiece of a December 2018 trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the New York Mets.
Five years later to the day, Kelenic was sent to the Braves.
“Things happen in baseball,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “You build relationships, equity with players, and then when it doesn’t work out the way you’re hoping, it’s disappointing. But it happens with a lot of guys. They get traded once or twice, and then all of a sudden something clicks for them. …
“Jarred’s got a lot of baseball ahead of him. I’m sure he’ll do fine. My focus is on winning these games and getting him out. That’s it.”
Seattle’s Andres Munoz did that Tuesday, getting Kelenic to whiff at a low slider, to cap a five-out save in Seattle’s 3-2 victory. Luis Castillo pitched seven scoreless innings and Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer as the Mariners won for the fifth time in six games.
The Braves have lost consecutive games for the first time this season and three of their last four overall.
“He’s been a tough ride for a long time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Castillo.
As for Munoz?
“We’re facing a lot of really good slider guys here all of a sudden,” Snitker said.
The Braves are scheduled to send left-hander Chris Sale (3-1, 3.69 ERA) to the mound Wednesday. Sale is 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 12 career appearances against Seattle, including 10 starts.
Mariners rookie right-hander Emerson Hancock (3-2, 5.06) will face the Braves for the first time. The native of Cairo, Ga., was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft out of the University of Georgia.
“Me growing up in Georgia, I wanted to be Chipper Jones (playing) in the backyard,” Hancock told ROOT Sports. “I’m pretty excited. I had a couple people (from back home) reach out, say they’ll be watching.”
–Field Level Media
