Father’s Day will mean a little more to J.P. Crawford this year.
The Seattle Mariners’ shortstop became a father for the first time in December when his wife, Kathy, gave birth to daughter Korra.
Between fatherhood and taking on a greater leadership role with rookies playing on either side of him in the infield, Crawford, 30, is flourishing after coming off an injury-plagued season.
He had three hits Friday in a 7-2 victory against the Cleveland Guardians, his 20th multi-hit game of the season. The three-game series will continue Saturday night in Seattle.
“From my first moments here, I’ve come a long way,” said Crawford, a former first-round draft pick by Philadelphia who was acquired by the Mariners on Dec. 3, 2018. “I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, but I got through the humps, and now I’m stronger than ever.”
After posting career highs of 19 homers and 65 RBIs in 2023, Crawford battled an oblique injury and a fractured right hand last year, batting a career-worst .202.
After a slow start this season, he is back atop the batting order and is hitting .362 over his past 15 games to raise his overall average to .286.
He’s also providing leadership for third baseman Ben Williamson and second baseman Cole Young, both of whom got called up after the start of the season to make their major league debuts.
“He’s been the guy to look up to for me,” Williamson said of Crawford. “He’s like the same dude every single day. It’s just been cool to just be next to him and watch that.”
Crawford said he remembers when he first came to the Mariners and was helped by third baseman Kyle Seager and second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon.
“The way they treated me, the way they handled things, I was taking notes every day,” Crawford said. “And so it’s kind of easy being out here, talking to Cole and Ben, because they’re really smart, too.”
The Mariners, who had lost three games in a row and eight of their past nine, also got a boost Friday from veterans Rowdy Tellez and Jorge Polanco, each of whom had a double and a home run in a 16-hit attack.
Nolan Jones and Steven Kwan hit back-to-back homers off Luis Castillo in the third inning, but that was all the Guardians could muster.
“I felt like Castillo was doing a great job hitting the top rail with his fastball,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “Got a couple calls up and then just continued to hit that top rail.
“We were working the changeup and slider off underneath. He did a great job mixing in the sinker every now and then to get us off the four-seam, so he pitched outstanding, but the top of the strike zone is what caught us.”
The middle game of the three-game series will feature a pair of right-handers in the Guardians’ Tanner Bibee (4-6, 3.81 ERA) and the Mariners’ George Kirby (1-3, 6.53).
Bibee didn’t get a decision Sunday in a 4-2 victory against visiting Houston despite giving up just two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings, with no walks and six strikeouts. In his only previous start against Seattle, last June 19 at home, Bibee pitched six innings of three-hit ball and struck out a career-high 12 in an 8-0 decision.
Kirby will make just his fifth start after beginning the season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. After three straight losses, he beat the host Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Sunday as he gave up two runs on two hits over seven innings and struck out a career-high 14. Kirby is 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in three career starts against Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
