RetroSimba

(Updated Jan. 18, 2020)

Dominic Leone put himself in position to earn his first major-league win by retiring Dexter Fowler with a runner in scoring position.

On May 22, 2014, Leone, a rookie reliever for the Mariners, got Fowler to ground out with a runner on second base, ending the top half of the seventh inning and keeping the score tied in a game against the Astros.

In the bottom half of the inning, Michael Saunders, batting with two outs and the bases loaded, beat out an infield single. The hit produced two runs _ “We all went nuts in the dugout,” Leone told the Tacoma News Tribune _ and gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead.

Asked whether he knew Saunders’ single gave him the chance for his first win, Leone, 22, replied, “That may have run through my mind.”

Mariners relievers held the Astros scoreless in the final two innings, preserving the win for Leone. Boxscore

Four years later, after Leone’s career experienced a series of ups and downs, he and Fowler became teammates. On Jan. 19, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Leone and pitcher Conner Greene to the Cardinals for outfielder Randal Grichuk.

Power stuff

Leone was born and raised in Connecticut and watched Red Sox games at Boston’s Fenway Park. “I went to a ton of games (at Fenway Park) as a kid and every time was awesome,” Leone told the Seattle Times.

He attended Clemson University and was selected by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 2012 amateur draft. Two years later, Leone impressed the Mariners in spring training and was put on their Opening Day roster.

Though he had advanced only as high as the Class AA level in the minor leagues, Leone, a right-hander, pitched well as a major-league rookie. He was 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 57 appearances, striking out 70 in 66.1 innings, for the 2014 Mariners. Right-handed batters hit .166 against him.

“I don’t think any situation really overwhelms him, whether he’s pitching late in the game or he’s pitching in the fifth,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said to MLB.com.

Said Mariners catcher Mike Zunino: “He just attacks hitters. He’s got great power stuff and he attacks the strike zone with his fastball and cutter and then he has his slider late in the count.”

Extra innings

In a stunning reversal, Leone’s career fell as quickly as it had risen.

In June 2015, the Mariners traded Leone to the Diamondbacks. He was a combined 0-5 with an 8.40 ERA for the Mariners and Diamondbacks in 2015.

Leone struggled again (0-1, 6.33 ERA) with the Diamondbacks in 2016. In his first appearance that season, on April 26 at Phoenix, Leone faced the Cardinals and yielded a two-run home run to Stephen Piscotty and a RBI-single to Yadier Molina. Boxscore

After the 2016 season, Leone was released by the Diamondbacks and signed by the Blue Jays. He pitched for the 2017 Blue Jays like he had as a rookie for the 2014 Mariners.

Leone was 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA in 65 appearances for the Blue Jays. He struck out 81 batters in 70.1 innings and held right-handed hitters to a .211 batting average.

In praising Leone’s durablity and versatility, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told the Toronto Star, “He’s one guy that can give you more than one inning. We don’t have a lot of those guys.”

In 69 appearances over two seasons (2018-19) with the Cardinals, Leone was 2-2 with one save and a 5.15 ERA. The Cardinals released him on Nov. 25, 2019.