Red-hot Jarred Kelenic gets first start for M’s against left-handed pitcher

Jarred Kelenic was back in his regular spot in the lineup Friday, batting sixth and playing left field for the Mariners for their series opener against the Colorado Rockies.

Nothing unusual about that, right?

Except, Kelenic’s start Friday was notable because it was his first of the season against a left-handed pitcher — in this case, Colorado’s Austin Gomber.

The Mariners had opened the season with a platoon in left field — with the left-handed-hitting Kelenic getting the start against right-handers, and veteran AJ Pollock starting against lefties.

Two weeks in, Kelenic has proved he deserves a chance to play against lefties too.

“Certainly, he’s got one of the hotter bats in the league right now. He’s going to play,” manager Scott Servais said. “That’s what you do in this league. You hit and you play and you keep on playing — and hopefully he keeps on hitting.”

Kelenic, after a torrid road trip, entered Friday ranked third in the American League with a 1.118 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He hit in seven straight games and homered all three games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, offering added belief around the organization that the 23-year-old former top prospect has finally turned a corner.

Before Friday, Kelenic had just three plate appearances against lefties this season (all against relief pitchers), and he was 0 for 3.

In 205 career plate appearances against lefties, Kelenic has a .154 batting average with 62 strikeouts and a .464 OPS. Against righties, he has a career .712 OPS in 394 plate appearances.

“I’m excited to see this thing continue to grow and move forward,” Servais said. “He’s made some big-time adjustments. He’s very comfortable. He looks good at the plate … and certainly the ball is jumping off his bat right now.

“He needs to continue to roll like that. It really helps the lengthen our lineup. He can do some serious damage when he’s right, and he’s right right now.”

Extra work in the infield

A few minutes after his regular pregame session with the media, Servais huddled his entire pitching staff and all of his infielders in a circle on the T-Mobile Park grass behind the pitching mound.

Servais spoke to the players for a several minutes, then asked for the stadium music to be turned off as the starting infielders took their position and pitchers lined up along the first-base line, taking turns on the mound for an extended session of pitchers fielding practice.

It’s a sight typically only seen on the backfields during the early days of spring training. Pitchers almost never take part on fielding practice during the regular season, but Servais apparently thought it was necessary after some uncharacteristic sloppiness from the Mariners defense early in the season — including two errant pickoff attempts to second base during the first road trip.

Under Servais’ watchful eye, the Mariners worked on pickoff moves and bunt coverages for about 10 minutes.

“You just want to make sure you’re on top of your stuff,” catcher Cal Raleigh said. “Like (Servais) said, you never know what’s going to happen in each game, and it just so happens that we’ve been in a lot of tight games — like usual — and it’s always good to go over that kind of stuff and make sure we’re ready for whatever happens.”

Injury updates

— Dylan Moore is getting closer to his return. The veteran utility man took a full round of batting practice early Friday afternoon, and then fielded ground balls during infield practice with the teammates.

Moore, on the injured list since March 30, had been rehabbing a left oblique muscle strain at the team’s facility in Arizona. He’ll continue to work out with the team over the weekend, and the plan is for him to begin a rehab assignment in Tacoma at some point early next week.

“The rehab process is going well,” Moore said. “I feel strong; I feel good to go. Now it’s about getting those reps to handle the volume of rotational hitting and all those aspects.”

— Left-hander Robbie Ray (left flexor strain) ran through some drills with a trainer in the outfield grass Friday. He’s scheduled to be evaluated by doctors on Monday, at which point the team hopes to have a better idea of when he can resume throwing. “He feels really good,” Servais said. “He’s been in here every day working his tail off. He wants to get back as soon as he can, obviously.”

— Reliever Andres Munoz (right deltoid strain) said he felt good after he resumed throwing Friday, from distances of 90 feet and 105 feet. He is hopeful he can return from the IL when he’s eligible on April 23.