Rainiers notes: O’Keefe crushes three homers and walk-off single, Wilson discusses call-up

Brian O’Keefe can’t remember a better offensive performance throughout his entire career. On Saturday night, Tacoma’s catcher put together a night unmatched by any Rainier since 2015.

By the tenth inning, the 28-year-old O’Keefe had a chance at history: the opportunity for a four-homer night.

Instead, with the game on the line, he rifled a ball into left-center field for a walk-off single, scoring auto-runner Jarred Kelenic from third. Tacoma won, 5-4, and O’Keefe had homered three times plus a walk-off single, driving in all of the Rainiers’ five runs.

“I said it after the game. It’s one of those special ones,” O’Keefe said in an interview Sunday. “I’ve been playing for a long time. That’s probably the most special game I’ve ever played, from an offensive standpoint. It was just one of those incredible nights.”

On the first pitch he saw, O’Keefe connected on a first-inning fastball, courtesy of veteran Salt Lake starter Cesar Valdez. Knowledgeable of Valdez’s “crafty” changeup, one he’s used more than 80 percent of the time in parts of four major league seasons, Tacoma’s catcher quickly hunted for a pitch over the middle of the plate, and did not miss.

The blast found the barrel and left his bat at 108 mph, quickly entering the left field patio seats at Cheney Stadium. It was O’Keefe’s first homer of the night and third of the series as Tacoma grabbed an early 2-0 lead.

In the sixth inning, then trailing 4-2, O’Keefe crushed his lengthiest homer of the night, traveling 436 feet and into the Foss High School parking lot. He found another of Valdez’s changeups middle-middle, which cut Salt Lake’s lead to one.

O’Keefe’s third, an opposite-field shot to right field in the eighth inning, tied the game.

“(Brian’s) got power to all fields,” manager Tim Federowicz said. “He’s been a great hitter for us and always comes up in big situations…. he’s been able to get us through a couple of them.”

Extra innings granted O’Keefe a rare chance for a fourth homer, though any tenth-inning hit all but guaranteed a win as Kelenic stood on third.

Were there intrusive thoughts to hit a fourth?

“No, no,” O’Keefe reassured.

“I wasn’t thinking about three.”

O’Keefe considered the possibility Salt Lake might intentionally walk the red-hot cleanup hitter, but wiped those thoughts away, quickly “putting them to sleep.” The last thing O’Keefe wanted, he said, was to enter the at-bat unprepared.

“If they intentionally walk me, they intentionally walk me,” he added, “but I was getting ready to go hit.”

His walk-off single clinched a 5-4 win and was Tacoma’s third walk-off win across a six-game set in which the Rainiers won four games. O’Keefe mashed five homers in the series, and of Saturday’s trio, the 2014 seventh-round pick clobbered a grand total of 1,181 feet worth of home runs. His 13 total bases were a new career best.

O’Keefe became the first Rainier to go deep thrice in a game since Justin Ruggiano accomplished the feat on June 27, 2015 against Triple-A El Paso. Sunday marked the 35th game in 40 tries in which O’Keefe has reached base safely. He’s now hitting .298 with a .972 OPS this season.

He’s worked with Seattle hitting strategist Ed Paparella for most of two seasons, and recently, the pair tweaked a few “very little” swing adjustments. Paparella is O’Keefe’s “go-to” guy for questions, advice, and encouragement.

O’Keefe aims to slow the game down as much as he can, in an attempt to be as calm and under control as possible in the box. That’s when he’s at his best, he said Sunday.

“I’ve always chased that perfect swing, and I think I’ve stopped chasing that and just… whatever it is on that night, just going and competing with it,” O’Keefe added. “Being more mature in the box, and being able to control my emotions more is a huge piece of that puzzle. … When I’m under control, that’s when I’m able to allow my talents to come out.”

O’Keefe had already hit two homers in Tacoma’s series with Salt Lake prior to Saturday, including a game-tying blast in the ninth-inning of Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory and another on Thursday. Infielder Erick Mejia notched consecutive walk-off hits on Wednesday and Thursday in the form of a sacrifice fly and infield single, respectively.

Infielder Zach Green blasted a ninth-inning game-tying homer on Wednesday, sending that game to extras.

“(Erick’s) been one of our most consistent hitters in that aspect, just knowing when to shorten up, knowing when to just take the single,” Federowicz said. “I think that’s something that we can get a lot better at, and having him as a veteran guy on the team… I know it’s going to let other guys see how powerful it is.”

Tacoma dropped the series opener Tuesday, 10-3, largely in part to Salt Lake’s eight-run fifth inning. The Triple-A Bees and Angels affiliate won again Friday, 4-3, before O’Keefe’s career Saturday.

The Rainiers clinched the series with a 3-2 win Sunday night, featuring a two-hit, two-RBI night from center fielder Forrest Wall. Right fielder Scott Heineman added a run-scoring single in the fourth.

WILSON GETS FIRST CALL-UP

Marcus Wilson, alongside friend and Tacoma teammate Joe Odom, sat atop his residence’s roof late Tuesday night. That’s when the phone rang around 10:30 p.m., and manager Tim Federowicz was on the line.

Wilson, a 25-year-old outfielder, had waited eight years for his first big league call-up. And Federowicz, in an attempt to “make it not seem too obvious,” initially masked the true meaning of the Tuesday-night conversation.

Federowicz first asked Wilson “what he was up to,” but cut to the chase rather quickly. “You’re going to be a big leaguer,” he told Wilson, who paused to gather himself.

“I could tell it choked him up a little bit,” Federowicz said Saturday. “So yeah, he was really excited. Didn’t have much to say, but he was really excited, and just thanked me.”

Wilson hung up the phone, and ran downstairs to deliver the news to his wife. He video-called his mother, shared what he described as “a moment,” and later called close friends, including Miami Marlins infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr.

“(Federowicz) called me and told me, and after he told me, I just kind of blacked out and started crying,” Wilson said at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday. “Unbelievable. I’ve been waiting for this call for eight years. Just a lot of hard work, and grind and grit. I’m just really happy it paid off.”

The call was Federowicz’s first time delivering the news of a player’s impending major league debut.

“It just stinks that I couldn’t do it (at) the field,” Federowicz said. “Normally, we try to make it a little less obvious, and you can do some fun stuff with them.”

Wilson’s call-up came after Taylor Trammell, Seattle’s then-right fielder, exited Tuesday night’s game with a hamstring injury during a sprint to first base. Already devastated by three outfield injuries (Trammell, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis) and expecting suspensions for two more (Julio Rodriguez and Jesse Winker), Seattle called up Wilson to inevitably make his major league debut after playing in parts of eight minor league seasons.

In Wednesday’s afternoon rubber match with the Orioles at T-Mobile Park, Mariners manager Scott Servais pinch-hit Wilson in the eighth inning, representing his first major-league at-bat.

The right-handed-hitting Wilson, like he did on Tuesday night’s phone call, “took a moment” to soak in an ovation from a crowd of 17,412. He dug into the batter’s box and worked an impressive walk against hard-throwing Baltimore reliever Jorge Lopez, who touched 99 miles per hour during the at-bat.

“I just tried to stay with what I was doing, get better every day, and just get to the big leagues when it’s my time,” Wilson said. “When it’s your time, it’s your time. Right now is my time. I’m just really grateful.”

In the ninth inning of Seattle’s Saturday contest, Wilson pinch-ran at first base as the winning run. New acquisition Carlos Santana singled Wilson to third base and Abraham Toro subsequently singled him home to win the game.

Wilson was a second-round draft choice by the Diamondbacks in 2014, and was claimed off waivers by the Mariners from Boston on Aug. 2, 2021. Across eight years, he logged 2,350 at-bats before stepping into the batter’s box in Seattle on Wednesday and hit .251 in 659 career minor league games.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pound outfielder played in 58 games with the Rainiers in 2022 before Tuesday night’s call-up, and was 40-for-193 (.207) with a .333 on-base percentage.

SHORT HOPS

– OF Jarred Kelenic logged an eight-game hit streak that lasted through Friday night, going 15-for-40 (.375) with five doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBI in that span. The 22-year-old outfielder joined Tacoma in May to “take a breath” and work on approach after a slower-than-anticipated start in the major leagues.

He’s 45-for-156 (.289) in 34 games for the Rainiers this season, and Federowicz has noticed a more consistent approach at the plate from Kelenic, who’s chasing less and striking out at a lesser rate – 21 percent throughout the hitting streak.

“(Jarred’s) focusing on his work, on his routines, and just trying to get as consistent as possible before he goes back up,” Federowicz said, because “I think they kind of view his next call up as being one to really help the team. They want to make sure that he’s ready, and he wants to make sure he’s ready as well.”

– OF Kyle Lewis (concussion) began a rehab assignment with Tacoma on Sunday night, going 0-for-1 with a walk.

– In five appearances with Tacoma since an option from Seattle on June 18, right-handed reliever Matthew Festa has yet to allow a hit. In 5 ⅔ innings of work, the 29-year-old walked two and struck out 11. Opposing hitters are 0-for-17.

ON TAP

Tacoma (32-45) plays a rare Monday contest at Triple-A Reno, and instead receives an off-day Tuesday. The Rainiers reconvene to complete a six-game set with the Aces on Wednesday and kick off a six-game home set with Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 12.