In tossing 14 1/3 scoreless innings during his first two MLB starts, San Diego Padres right-hander Stephen Kolek has at the very least staked his claim on a rotation spot down the road, even though Yu Darvish is about to come off the injured list.
Kolek has a chance to make another statement Friday night, as well as remind the visiting Seattle Mariners what they could have had, when the teams open a three-game weekend series.
After being a Rule 5 pick out of the Seattle organization in December 2023, Kolek went 3-0 in 42 relief appearances for San Diego with a 5.21 ERA before a midseason injury sidelined him for the remainder of 2024.
Kolek (2-0, 0.00 ERA) was farmed out to Triple-A El Paso this spring but was called up on May 4 when San Diego needed a starter. First came 5 1/3 innings in a 4-0 win at Pittsburgh, followed by a complete-game five-hitter Saturday night in the Padres’ 21-0 rout at Colorado, the first shutout by a visiting pitcher in Coors Field since Clayton Kershaw did it in 2013.
The usual caveats come with those games, mainly the fact that the Pirates and Rockies are two of the worst teams in MLB. But Kolek’s command and ability to put hitters away quickly have still been eye-opening.
“He had some struggles but we saw the stuff,” San Diego pitching coach Ruben Niebla said of Kolek’s 2024 season. “The plan all year last year was: If he makes it through, this guy’s going to be a starter. Because he has the arsenal.”
A sinker has been the base pitch for Kolek but he’s also employed a cutter, sweeper and straight changeup to induce weak contact. He needed just 104 pitches to go the distance at Colorado, finishing in style by slipping a called third strike past Michael Toglia.
While Kolek tries to keep his roll going, Seattle will likely turn to Logan Evans (1-1, 3.60) and hope he can find some consistency. He last pitched on Saturday night, going five innings in a no-decision during his team’s 6-3 loss to Toronto.
Evans, a rookie in his third big-league start, allowed five hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. He left with a 3-2 lead before the bullpen coughed up the tying run that he left aboard, then lost the game in the eighth by allowing three runs.
That was part of a rough homestand for the Mariners, who were swept by the Blue Jays and then dropped two of three to the New York Yankees. They lost the series finale 3-2 on Wednesday when Aaron Judge reached Carlos Vargas for the game-winning homer in the top of the eighth inning.
“Came up on the short end of this one,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “We hit some balls hard in situations and came up shy. Obviously, the close ones are tough.”
Despite their 1-5 mark on the homestand, the Mariners entered Thursday with a one-game lead over Houston and Texas in the AL West as they start a 10-game road trip. The Padres are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first in the NL West.
–Field Level Media
