September 19, 2011

Progressive Field

Scouting Report

• Seattle – In the midst of their final road trip of the season, the Mariners are making a stop in Cleveland to make up a game that was rained out in May. Seattle dropped two over the weekend to the Rangers, and didn’t fare well in the batters box. They struck out 36 times in three games against the Rangers and lead the American League in the category. The Mariners have only 10 games remaining, but they are having to keep things patched together due to some nagging injuries. Shortstop Brendan Ryan (sore neck), first baseman Justin Smoak (strained groin muscle) and outfielder Casper Wells (sick) all missed Sunday’s game. Smoak could be back as early as Monday, but Wells’ status is day to day and Ryan is likely out several more days.

• Cleveland - A sweep of the Twins propelled the Indians back to the .500 mark over the weekend, and the Tribe will look to bust through the .500 mark before heading in to a series with third place Chicago on Tuesday. The Indians have a chance to win four straight, something that haven’t done since May. Indians outfielder Shelley Duncan is 6 for 13 with three doubles in three games against the Mariners this season. He homered, doubled and drove in three Sunday.

Pitching Match-up

Charlie Furbish vs. David Huff

• Charlie Furbish  2-6, 5.77 ERA

The 25-year-old rookie has lost five straight starts, but is coming off two fairly strong outings against the Angels and Yankees. His deceptive delivery can be tough if he’s commanding his fastball.

• David Huff  2-5, 3.40 ERA

Huff surrendered eight runs in four innings of a loss Wednesday against the Rangers, though only three of the runs were earned. The southpaw has suffered a loss in each of his past three starts.

Lineups

Seattle

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki
2. SS Luis Rodriguez
3. 1B Mike Carp
4.    C Miguel Olivo
5. 2B Kyle Seager
6. DH Willy Mo Pena
7. 3B Alex Liddi
8. CF Trayvon Robinson
9. LF Chris Gimenez

Cleveland

1. RF Kosuke Fukudome
2. 2B Jason Donald
3. SS Asdrubal Cabrera
4. 1B Carlos Santana
5. DH Travis Hafner
6. LF Shelly Duncan
7. CF Grady Sizemore
8. 3B Lonnie Chisenhall
9.    C Lou Marson

August 22-24, 2011

Progressive Field

Scouting Report

• Seattle - Mike Carp’s career-high 20-game hitting streak came to an end after an 0-for-4 night on Monday, but he’s still batting .350 (42-for-120) with 17 runs, seven doubles, one triple, six home runs and 26 RBIs since being recalled from Tacoma on July 19. Sixty-seven of the Mariners’ 126 games have been decided by two or fewer runs. Seattle is 21-23 in one-run games and 9-14 in two-run games. With a 3-2 win on Monday night, Seattle ended it’s five game losing streak.

• Cleveland - Swept at the hands of the Tigers, the Indians didn’t do themselves any favors over the weekend and now face a 5 1/2 game deficit in the American League Central. The Tigers pounded the Tigers on Saturday night by a score of 10-1 and things looked like they were headed the same way on Sunday after the Tigers jumped on Ubaldo Jimenez and scored seven runs in the seventh inning. The Tribe fought back valiantly with a five-run fourth but it wasn’t enough as the Indians were dropped 8-7.

Game 2 – Blake Beavan vs. Justin Masterson

• Blake Beavan  3-4, 4.10 ERA

The 6-foot-7 rookie suffered his second straight rough outing Wednesday, allowing three homers to Toronto. Beavan relies on fastball command, but has struggled with it after opening his career with six straight quality starts.

• Justin Masterson  10-7, 2.71 ERA

The Indians have won the last five times Masterson has patrolled the mound. In his last start, the righty allowed two runs in six innings against the White Sox. Masterson has just one loss in the last two months.

Game 3 – Anthony Vszquez vs. Zach McCallister

• Anthony Vasquez  0-0, -.– ERA

Vasquez, 24, will be selected from Triple-A Tacoma prior to the second game of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader. The start will mark Vasquez’s Major League debut. The lefty is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Tacoma.

• Zach McCallister  0-0, 4.50 ERA

The Indians will recall McAllister to pitch the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader. It’ll be the right-hander’s second career Major League start. In his debut, he allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings against Toronto on July 7.

Game 4 – Felix Hernandez vs. Josh Tomlin

• Felix Hernandez  11-11, 3.38 ERA

The right-hander pitched well in his last start, allowing three runs in eight innings of work and striking out nine against the Rays on Friday. But he still received his 11th loss of the season.

• Josh Tomlin  12-6, 4.03 ERA

The right-hander pitched well in his last start, allowing three runs in eight innings of work and striking out nine against the Rays on Friday. But he still received his 11th loss of the season.

Projected Lineups

Seattle

1. DH Ichiro Suzuki
2. CF Franklin Gutierrez
3. 2B Dustin Ackley
4. 1B Mike Carp
5. RF Casper Wells
6. 3B Adam Kennedy
7.    C Miguel Olivo
8. SS Kyle Seager
9. LF Trayvon Robinson

Cleveland

1. LF Ezequiel Carrera
2. SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3. RF Shin-Soo Choo
4.    C Carlos Santana
5. CF Kosuke Fukudome
6. DH Lonnie Chisenhall
7. 1B Matt LaPorta
8. 3B Jack Hannahan
9. 2b Luis Valbuena

With the lowest ERA in the American League, Seattle pitchers fooled Cleveland batters over the weekend as the Indians only managed 6 runs over the final three games of the set.

Not that Cleveland’s pitching was terrible (Indian arms allowed 15 runs over the 4-game series), but Seattle showed what timely hitting can do for a ballclub wanting to contend for a playoff spot. The Mariners offense isn’t a pleasant sight to watch by any means, but it is much easier to digest than the Indian bullpen.

On Sunday, a quality start by Aaron Laffey (3-2) was erased by Rafael Betancourt’s and Kerry Wood’s inability to close out the Mariner offense in late innings. The result? A 5-3 loss.

Tomo Ohka’s (0-4) start on Saturday lasted seven strong innings , but Jarrod Washburn scattered eight hits over 6 2/3 innings as the Indians seemingly lost the game on a two-run home run from Franklin Guttierez in the 4th inning.

Friday was certainly a preview of the previously mentioned games as Felix Hernandez (10-3) pitched eight innings of five-hit baseball, allowing only two runs. Grady Sizemore provided the few offensive sparks for Cleveland with a two hit performance, a double and a triple, during a 6-2 Mariner win.

The most appropriate image of the weekend was probably the last pitch of the series. With the tying run at the plate, Victor Martinez slammed a David Aardsma pitch to right field, only to see Ichiro launch himself up to rob Martinez of a sure hit, and possibly a game-tying home run.

The Indians were always close, but not close enough, against Seattle. The Mariners move to within four games of the Angels in the AL West, and remain in what is a crowded wild card hunt thus far.