Ty France has spiked his helmet or tossed his bat in fits of frustration. Earlier on in the homestand, it led to an ejection and a fine.
On July 2, against the Rays, Eugenio Suarez snapped his bat over his knee in anger after striking out late in the game. It was at least the second time he's done that as a member of the Mariners.
Last season, furious at himself for missing a cutoff throw while playing right field and failing to get a sac bunt down, Sam Haggerty smashed his bat against the concrete floor of the Minute Maid Park dugout. The bat recoiled and struck him in the head, causing a nasty gash that would require eight stitches and leave him so woozy that he was forced out of the game.
So when Jarred Kelenic, wearing a walking boot, stood in front of the Mariners team Thursday morning, apologizing for allowing his anger and emotion to overtake him when he broke his left foot while kicking a water cooler in the loss Wednesday night, most of his teammates were empathetic to the situation. They've been there. They've been frustrated with a game that delivers constant failure.
"It sucks," France said. "We've all been in that position. We have slammed something or broken something after we let our emotions get the best of us. But you never want to see someone get hurt because of it. I think everyone as a team, we feel for him. Like I said, we've all been there, but we just kind of have to keep going forward. It sucks for him. He's paying the consequences."
France, who loves to tease and joke with teammates, often liked to give Kelenic a hard time about being wound so tight and getting so upset in his results. But he also saw how much Kelenic worked on processing failure and not letting it build inside.
"He's definitely seen some growth," France said. "Hopefully, this is an eye-opening experience for him and helps him kind of realize that it's not worth it. But only time will tell."
Manager Scott Servais watched carefully how Kelenic handled the fallout from his meltdown. The Mariners had chastised Kelenic in years past about his emotional outbursts and his ability to handle the ups and downs of the game.
"There was a lot on his plate," Servais said. "I think he grew up quite a bit yesterday. At different points, in all of our lives, no matter what we go through, and certainly his very public, there comes those points where you take steps hopefully in the right direction. Unfortunately, taking a step backward, allowed him to take two steps forward. I think he grew up a lot yesterday. It wasn't an easy day for him."
While Kelenic showed plenty of emotion when talking to the media, he was even more emotional in his apology to his teammates.
"Looking at his teammates that was probably the toughest thing," Servais said. "I know it's hard to get on camera and do all the other stuff and explain yourself, but looking at his teammates is not easy."
His teammates were understanding.
"I know our team is pretty tight-knit," Servais said. "I'm not a part of a player celebration after wins. But it was brought up that our guys feel for Jarred and they have his back, so to speak. Jarred will be back and he'll play again this year. I feel very confident about that."
After facing former teammate Yusei Kikuchi on Friday night at T-Mobile Park, the Mariners likely won't face another left-handed starting pitcher until the series vs. the Diamondbacks next weekend or even the Red Sox series on the next homestand.
The Blue Jays will start right-handers Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah in the final two games of the series.
The Twins have five right-handed starters in their rotation. The Diamondbacks' rotation has been hampered by injuries with right-hander Zach Davies just added to the injured list for a lower back strain. Rookie lefty Tommy Henry started Friday for Arizona and would likely pitch Wednesday before the Mariners open the three-game series in Phoenix.
Note
The Mariners came into Friday's game with a 48-48 record. It was the 21st time this season where they've found themselves with an even record.
