Seattle @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2010 ) Seattle 9, Cleveland 3
Given what little support Felix Hernandez has received recently, he must be hoping the Mariners saved a little bit for his start on Sunday afternoon.
Hernandez will face the Cleveland Indians just hours after the Mariners battered Tribe pitching for nine runs and three homers.
The nine runs equaled Seattle’s output from its previous four games combined. In fact, the Mariners have scored just seven runs in Hernandez’s last six starts combined.
It helps explain why Hernandez’s record (8-9) is so mediocre despite a nifty 2.71 ERA. The Mariners were shut out in consecutive starts he made before “exploding” for two runs in his last start against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Hernandez made them stand for 2-0 win, pitching eight innings while striking out 13.
The Mariners’ woeful offense received an unexpected jolt Saturday, though, when Josh Bard hit a grand slam and Russell Branyan and Casey Kotchman also homered. It wasn’t all good news, though, since the Mariners learned Milton Bradley’s season might be over.
Bradley will have arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday. Even in a best-case scenario, Bradley will need three weeks to heal. That leaves just three weeks left in a lost season going nowhere for both Bradley and the Mariners.
Bradley is batting just .205 with eight homers and 29 RBIs. He hasn’t played since July 26 because of the knee problems.
The Indians and Mariners are headed in opposite directions. Seattle is 4-1 under interim manager Daren Brown, while the Indians have wiped out their promising start to the second half by losing four of their last five against bottom feeders like Baltimore and the Mariners.
The Indians started the second half going 12-11 against the Tigers, Twins, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays (all teams over .500).
Justin Masterson will start today for the Indians, trying once again to get through six innings. It hasn’t happened for him since July 25, a span of three starts. He was hammered for seven runs (four earned) in five innings in his last start, a 14-8 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday.
Masterson is 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five appearances (two starts) against the Mariners. He has baffled Chone Figgins, who is 0-for-9 against him with four strikeouts. Figgins has been the subject of recent trade talks with Atlanta, which is trying to find a third baseman to replace Chipper Jones.
Injuries and trades have decimated the Indians, who are struggling just as badly as the Mariners recently to score runs. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is one of the lone bright spots. He has two hits in each of his last three games and is batting .379 (11-for-21) over his last eight.