Coming off two straight walk-off wins, the surging Tribe, 16-4 in its last 20 games, face a stiff opponent Sunday in the Mariners' Felix Hernandez. The Indians counter with the anchor of their rotation, Justin Masterson.
Despite a late rally to make things interesting, the Mariners suffered their second straight walk-off loss to the Indians on Saturday when Mark Reynolds drove in the winning run with a bases-loaded grounder in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 victory.
After starting 15 straight games since returning from his sprained shoulder, Michael Saunders was given the day off Saturday by Mariners manager Eric Wedge.
Franklin Gutierrez was the designated hitter on Friday for the second straight game during his rehab stint at Triple-A Tacoma, but the Mariners want him to see time in right field while he's there, so they have options when he returns from a strained hamstring.
The low point for the Mariners this season was a 10-3 defeat in Houston on April 24 when Seattle lost a series to the last-place Astros and then got an earful from manager Eric Wedge in a fiery postgame speech.
It was a pitch Lucas Luetge wanted back as soon as it left his hand, but Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis wasn't in the mood for second chances Friday as he ripped a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Mariners, 6-3.
Outfielder Michael Morse, who has been carrying a hot bat the last week, was scratched from the Mariners lineup about an hour before Friday's series opener with the Indians due to eye irritation.
Veteran right-hander Aaron Harang took it easy on Friday, a day after being scratched from his scheduled start against the Yankees due to lower back stiffness. But the 35-year-old remains hopeful that he'll be fine to pitch in his next scheduled start Tuesday in Anaheim.
Needing to bolster a thin bullpen, the Mariners selected right-hander Danny Farquhar from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday and optioned Hector Noesi back to Tacoma.
Mariners manager Eric Wedge earned his first ejection of the season on Thursday, when he was tossed by first-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after the top of the second inning of his team's 3-2 victory over the Yankees.
Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez began a Minor League injury rehab assignment Thursday night as the designated hitter for Triple-A Tacoma, which hosted Memphis to start an eight-game homestand.
Brendan Ryan hasn't hit well for two seasons now. He knows it, you know it, manager Eric Wedge knows it. But the Mariners shortstop has never stopped trying.
Raul Ibanez was a hero for the Yankees in the 2012 postseason, when his two late home runs beat the Orioles in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. So yes, he was cheered when he first came to the plate as a visiting Mariner this week at Yankee Stadium.
Michael Morse cracked his 10th home run of the season, and the Mariners pitching staff pieced together a strong effort Thursday in place of the injured Aaron Harang as Seattle topped the Yankees, 3-2, in a game that crackled with suspense down to the final pitch.
In his 12th year in the Major Leagues, the Yankees were the one team Aaron Harang had yet to pitch against in his career -- and that will remain true after the veteran right-hander was scratched from Thursday's start for the Mariners with lower back stiffness.
Raul Ibanez continued his torrid hitting at Yankee Stadium, and this time his Mariners teammates jumped on board, as Seattle swamped New York, 12-2, on Wednesday.
In the first two games after manager Eric Wedge bumped Michael Morse from the cleanup spot down to No. 5 in the lineup, the Mariners outfielder went 5-for-8 with a pair of doubles to raise his batting average from .220 to .244.
After resting three straight days, including Monday's off-day, second baseman Dustin Ackley was back in the Mariners' starting lineup against the Yankees on Wednesday, shifted back up to No. 2 by manager Eric Wedge.
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez showed up at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon feeling fine after being taken out of Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees following the sixth inning due to a tight back.
Raul Ibanez went 2-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's 4-3 Mariners loss and entered Wednesday hitting .280 with 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 75 games at the new Yankee Stadium. The slugging veteran added to those totals by hitting a grand slam to right-center field in the first inning and a two-run homer to left in the fifth.
There was a staged party recently inside the MLB Fan Cave, where fans came in off the street and (non-alcoholic) drinks were served up by Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen, the bartender-turned-potential All-Star, and his fellow Mariners pitchers Charlie Furbush, Lucas Luetge and Brandon Maurer.
Raul Ibanez made his debut with the Mariners on Aug. 1, 1996, yet the decision to return for a third stint wasn't entirely nostalgic. Michael Morse also returned to Seattle this offseason as part of a three-team deal. Both players answered fans' questions on Wednesday in the Chatting Cage.
Former Yankees outfielder Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home run and longtime Yankees killer Felix Hernandez threw another gem, but the Mariners couldn't take advantage as they dropped a 4-3 decision to New York on Tuesday in the opening game of a three-game series in the Bronx.
On Tuesday, second baseman Dustin Ackley wasn't in the starting lineup for the second time in as many games as the Mariners opened a nine-day road trip, but manager Eric Wedge said that was strictly about playing matchups against Yankees standout CC Sabathia.
Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma have been one of the best one-two pitching tandems in baseball so far this season, and Hernandez, the Mariners' ace, is thrilled to have company atop the rotation.
Raul Ibanez returned on Tuesday to Yankee Stadium, where his postseason heroics a year ago were memorable both for himself and Yankees fans. But the 40-year-old outfielder wasn't getting caught up in the past as he prepared to face CC Sabathia in the opening game of a three-game series with his Mariners.
Does the geographical proximity of Seattle hinder the Mariners? Is Justin Smoak better suited batting strictly left-handed? How should the club address the back end of the starting rotation? Beat reporter Greg Johns tackles those topics and more in the latest Inbox.
Felix Hernandez had a start last week that perfectly encapsulates the essence of what makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Manager Eric Wedge shuffled his lineup a bit on Sunday hoping to ease the pressure on struggling sluggers Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse, and the early results were promising as the Mariners topped the A's, 6-1, at Safeco Field.
With her husband, dad and two kids cheering her on, Mariners Honorary Bat Girl Kimberly Fugere threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Sunday's Mariners game, an underhanded toss from 20 feet to Dustin Ackley that carried with it all the hopes and dreams a Mother's Day can hold.
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