Seattle Mariners

This game looked on paper beforehand like the Cleveland Indians might swing and bash the Mariners and Brandon Maurer into submission. You had the team with the best OPS in the league stacking its lineup with lefties to face Maurer, a pitcher who struggles against opposite-handed bats. Instead, it was the Mariners who did most of the hitting in this game. They wound up outhitting the Indians 10-7 and really, it was 10-5 with two out and none on in the 10th inning. The Mariners had run up the pitch count of Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez just five innings in and forced him from the contest by working counts, getting on base and making his life difficult. They just couldn't finish the job...again. Instead, the Indians saw Jason Kipnis hit a three-run homer off Lucas Luetge in the 10th inning after two batters got on via a walk and a slow chopper. So, it's the Mariners taking the 6-3 loss here even though they were the ones doing the most offensively all night. Seattle pitchers actually had retired 16 batters in a row before Drew Stubbs got the walk off of Luetge in the 10th. So, once again, the fundamentals are there. The Mariners just need to build off that base. “We had plenty of chances,’’ Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “We’re playing good baseball. We still have to do a better job with runners in scoring position. We’ve got to do a better job of stringing hits together and putting to together innings. “We’ve shown signs at times, of that, but we’ve yet to be consistent with that. That’s why there’s so much reason to believe that we’re going to be a much better offensive club when we start to get to that point.’’ Tough to argue with that contention. The Mariners have spent the past three weeks getting on base and winning more games than they lose. But when they do lose, it's usually because they don't capitalize on the many chances they set themselves up for. The Mariners stranded seven runners the first five innings and 1o on the night. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. But on the plus-side, they put 14 runners on base. When you do that and you hit two home runs in the game, you usually wind up with more than three runs. As Wedge said, when the Mariners start to get some more timely hits, they will be scoring more than this with all those runners on the bases. These are good teams the Mariners have played lately in some real tight games. I like the vibe I'm sensing off the club. So does Raul Ibanez, who hit his fourth home run in four games tonight. “I think it’s a great attitude,’’ Ibanez said. “There’s a lot of energy in here before the games and there’s a good, confident vibe on everybody’s part. “This team seems to really be coming together nicely and battling,’’ he added. “Games like that, those (opposing) guys are battling too. And there’s nothing to hang our heads about. We’ve got to keep fighting. And if we keep playing like that, good things are going to happen.’’ You can see what a little power in the lineup can do. There were times when it was a 3-1 game in the fifth inning and Maurer was struggling a it with two on that it looked like the game might be lost. But then Endy Chavez makes that nice catch on a hard liner to right and doubles the runner off first base. All of a sudden, Maurer is through the fifth and then -- boom! -- Ibanez ties it with one swing in the sixth. When you have some bigger bats in the lineup, it gets dangerous for the other team when they put runners on base. That wasn't the case here in Seattle the past few years. From there, it was a completely different game. The Indians couldn't buy a hit and Maurer found an extra gear and kicked it in during that sixth inning. “That was awesome,’’ Maurer said of the Chavez catch. “A great play. That help

The Mariners had plenty of chances to win this game, but just could not get a big hit when they needed it the final few innings. Come to think of it, the Cleveland Indians couldn't get one either until the very end, with the Mariners retiring 16 in a row at one point. But Lucas Luetge walked Drew Stubbs with two out in the 10th, then saw him steal second. Michael Bourn then hit a slow roller past Lucas Luetge for an infield single that put runners at the corners. Jason Kipnis came up next and hit a walkoff three-run homer to hand Seattle a 6-3 loss. Luetge had Kipnis 0-1 in the count, but the next offering was lined clear over the wall. The Mariners had outhit the Indians 10-5 by the time the ninth inning was halfway done. But they'd also stranded nine runners on base to just three for Cleveland by that point. Those missed chances, especially early on in the game, once again loomed large as the late innings arrived. It's the first loss by the Mariners on a walkoff homer since Dayan Viciedo did it against Kameron Loe the first weekend of the season back in April.

Brock Huard and Danny ONeil discuss Earl Thomas ranking on the NFL Networks list of the leagues top-100 players and how the Seahawks safety can take the next step in his fourth NFL season.

The Seattle Mariners head to Ohio in the A.L. West's second position and just one win away from .500. Ryan Richards of Let's Go Tribe is this series' guest. Date Time Pitching Probables 5/17 4:05 pm PDT Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Brandon Maurer 5/18 10:05 am PDT Zach McAllister vs. Joe Saunders 5/19 10:05 am PDT Justin Masterson vs. Felix Hernandez 5/20 9:05 am PDT Scott Kazmir vs. Hisashi Iwakuma Jon: The Indians unexpectedly emerged over the offseason as the top suitor for two of the best free agent hitters: Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn. How did your expectations for this season change between the end of last season and Opening Day 2013? How have the new guys looked so far? Ryan: The mood surrounding the team at the end of last season was about as dark as it could be. Manny Acta was a lame duck from the middle of August onwards, and it was apparent even from an outsider's perspective that he had completely lost the clubhouse. But even more painful than the remainder of the season was the prospect of the offseason. Yes, the Indians would hire another manager, but the scariest thoughts were centered on the upcoming roster shakeup. The farm system didn't really have any prospects ready to help in 2013, and the Indians had never been major players in the free agent market, so that meant veteran-for-prospect trades. Most of us expected that Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, and others would be dealt for prospects, a couple minor free agent signings would take place, and the team would treat 2013 as a rebuilding year, similar to what happened in 2002-2003 and 2009-2010. There was also the possibility that the entire front office would be let go given the failures in the farm system and at the major league level. Then suddenly Terry Francona became interested in managing the Indians. It turned out that he had maintained friendships with Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti that began during his time with Cleveland in 2000, and saw the Indians, even in the state that they were in, as a great opportunity to return to managing. Francona even had a clause placed in his four-year contract that allowed him to leave if there was a change in the front office. So when the Indians hired Francona, it was a package deal, and that set the stage for what happened later that winter. I don't want to go too much into what happened last offseason, other than that Choo was dealt, but three position players were signed (Swisher, Bourn, and Reynolds) that improved the lineup even with Choo's departure. I don't think many expect this club to win the division or anything, but they do see that the franchise seems to have a direction now, which is quite a departure from how things looked nine months ago. As for how the additions have done this season, the answer is very well (with the exception of Brett Myers, who was throwing batting practice before going on the DL). Michael Bourn has been sidelined a large chunk of the season after he cut his finger in the middle of April, so I haven't really gotten a chance to see him play in long stretches, but of the little I have seen of him, he's matched expectations (excellent fielder, disruptive on the bases, a decent hitter). To say Nick Swisher has a bubbly personality would be a vast understatement; he was the one that put this together in Spring Training. Thankfully that's not all he brings to the table; he's been as advertised on offense, a patient hitter with power from both sides of the plate. And the Bourn signing has allowed Swisher to play more first base, which improves the defense at several positions (Bourn in center, Drew Stubbs in right, Swisher at first). While Bourn and Swisher have largely met expectations, Mark Reynolds has surpassed them. When the Indians signed him, I thought that Reynolds would hit some home runs but not much else. Well, he's hit home runs.... ..but to this point he's also been a surprisingly complete hitter, cutting down his swi

The Cleveland Indians went out and signed two free agents -- Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher -- that many thought the Mariners might take a run at this past winter. Cleveland now has the best offense in the AL in terms of OPS and Bourn and Swisher are a huge part of it. Bourne is batting .281 with a .343 OBP and .469 slugging percentage out of the leadoff spot -- no, he isn't Chone figgins reincarnated -- while Swisher has hit .273 with a .374 OBP and a .492 slugging percentage. Mariners starter Brandon Maurer struggles against left-handers and the Indians have stacked their lineup with lefties and switch-hitters. So, either Maurer starts throwing his curveball with some effectiveness or it could be a very long night. No Michael Morse for the Mariners. A late scratch with an irritation in his eye.

Training camp is more than two months away, but the Seahawks suffered their first loss of the season. Bruce Irvin will be suspended for the first four games of the season, the NFL announced Friday, for violating the leagues policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Brandon Maurer vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, 4:05pm Dave mentioned it on twitter, and Matthew mentioned it in his series preview, but because the Indians can stack their line-up with quality left-handed bats, this game represents the toughest test Brandon Maurer’s faced since his abbreviated start against Baltimore. Maurer’s last start marked a noticeable change in approach, as he largely ditched his slider to left-handers and instead relied on his curve ball, a pitch without the large platoon splits that sliders carry. It wasn’t a great start by any stretch, but the new strategy looked quite promising. He fanned a few lefties, kept the team in the ballgame, and while he gave up another two homers, he didn’t look completely helpless against left-handed line-ups. That Maurer’s still in the big leagues, overhauling his approach on the fly, speaks to both how injuries have ravaged the M’s pitching depth and to Maurer’s ability to learn and adapt, perhaps the best qualities a young hurler can have. On the one hand, it seems counterintuitive that this should work – that you could pick up a new pitch, or radically alter your pitch-mix from start to start in the majors. On the other hand, failing on a big stage can be a hell of a motivator. Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez should know – he’s gone from a 6+-WAR pitcher to replacement level in the past three years (!). The prime suspect for this mid-career collapse has been his diminished velocity. In 2010, his two- and four-seam fastballs averaged 97mph. In 2011, that fell to 94. In 2012, 93, and so far this year, he’s between 92-93. That’s a pretty big drop in a short time frame. Sure, King Felix’s velo’s dropped a similar amount, if not more, but it’s happened gradually, and his off-speed stuff and command mean he hasn’t paid a price in terms of results. Jimenez though…Jimenez has paid a price. Jeff’s piece on him here and Kyle Boddy’s here have focused on the mechanical changes Ubaldo’s made since 2010. I’m not an expert on mechanics, though you can clearly see he’s made some changes. Whether they’ve in some way caused or accelerated the velocity drop, I couldn’t say, but recent changes haven’t (as yet) reversed it. Through most of April, Jimenez’s decline looked to be nearing a terminal phase, as he followed two awful starts against New York and Boston with a just-as-bad-in-context start against Houston. But since then, over the span of all of three starts, he’s been good again. Maybe he just needed Scott Kazmir to talk to him about how far it’s possible to fall, or maybe the raised front-shoulder thing that Jeff’s article mentioned actually helped in some way, but his K:BB ratio in those three starts is 20:6, and he’s given up only three runs. Since I don’t know about mechanics, I thought I’d talk about his pitches. One way Jimenez has changed since his days as a Rockie is that he’s developed a split-finger fastball that’s all but replaced his change. He had one in 2010 with Colorado, but he started throwing it a lot last year, and that’s continued in 2013. He now throws it about 25% of the time to righties and lefties alike. The other change since 2010 is an increased utilization of his two-seam fastball, and this highlights how difficult it is to isolate variables in something like pitching. Not only did Jimenez use his sinker more with Cleveland, he used it in a specific way. Check it out in his usage tab at BrooksBaseball. Particularly against lefties, he’s used the pitch much more when he’s behind in the count. This may indicate he had more confidence in his ability to command the pitch, or it may be a decision to go for a grounder and not a K. Whatever the reason, it’s produced ugly, ugly results from the two-seamer – resul

CLEVELAND – 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 irritation in his eye. Morse will be available off the bench for the 4:05 p.m. PT contest, but Endy Chavez took his place in right field to start the game. Morse hit his 10th home run of the season in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Yankees. Since moving to the fifth spot in the lineup on May 12, he’s hit .600 (9-for-15) with four straight multi-hit games. The big outfielder was tied for fifth in the American League with his 10 home runs going into Friday’s games and was hitting .261 with 17 RBIs in 35 games. Here’s the updated lineup:

Some breaking news here, as Michael Morse has been scratched from tonight's lineup with an eye irritation. We'll post new lineups shortly, but Endy Chavez will be in right field. Mariners relief pitcher Stephen Pryor suffered a torn lat muscle just over a month ago and we hadn't heard much about him since. Until today, that is, when Pryor was placed on the 60-day DL. Now, that can be backdated to when the injury first occured, so technically, it could last only another 3 1/2 weeks or so. But it doesn't sound like that will be the case. It sounds like Pryor will still be out for a while yet. Mariners manager Eric Wedge was asked about Pryor moments ago. "It's just been slow coming,'' Wedge said. "He tried to play catch the other day and he didn't feel great. So, we kind of backed him off that a little bit. For a guy that size, that injury, with the way he throws, it's just not the best scenario, let's put it that way. You know what I mean? We knew when we started out, it was going to be some time. But I don't think we know how much right now because he's kind of on his own timetable.'' The Mariners do miss Pryor in a bullpen that has three left-handers in it but looks a little short at times from the right side. Carter Capps and Yoervis Medina handled the big work late in the seventh and eighth innings for the Mariners at Yankee Stadium last night and got the outs they needed, but the team appears to need more than that, which is one reason Danny Farquhar is now here. As for some other players recovering from injury, Aaron Harang remains on schedule for now to make his Tuesday start in Anaheim. He got treatment from a chiropractor on his stiff back, so the Mariners are crossing their fingers. They could call Hector Noesi back up to replace Harang, but under MLB rules, Harang would have to go on the 15-day DL for that to happen since Noesi just got optioned to AAA. Franklin Gutierrez went 1-for-5 in his DH stint for AAA Tacoma last night, but was a bit sore afterwards. The Rainiers will see how he feels today. If he's good to go, he will be used in the outfield.

After Hector Noesi threw those 4 1/3 innings last night, it was clear the Mariners would need some extra bullpen help. So, they're getting that tonight as Noesi has been optioned to Class AAA and Danny Farquhar has been called up. To clear a roster spot for Farquhar, the Mariners placed Stephen Pryor on the 60-day DL. That move likely won't delay Pryor's return to the big leagues, since it can be backdated to when his injury occured just over a month ago. Farquhar, 26, got himself noticed with a strong showing for the Mariners this spring and had been used in a closing role by AAA Tacoma. His outings have been better of late after he mixed in his curveball more to offset a 95 mph fastball and 91 mph cutter. "The curveball definitely is a big offspeed pitch that I need to continue to throw for strikes, continue to mix in there,'' Farquhar said. "Just because I have the cutter and the fastball -- they're two hard, hard pitches. Even just showing a hitter the curveball...it's so much easier and more fun to pitch when you have extra weapons like that.'' Farquhar has had a taste of the big leagues before, getting into three games with Toronto in 2011 and allowing three runs on four hits over four innings. He got the news last night after an extra-inning loss by Tacoma. He was "starving" and waiting in the clubhouse food line with his teammates when he got called into the manager's office and was handed the news he'd be en route to Cleveland. Farquhar promptly forgot all about the food and went to tell his wife the good news. The velocity Farquhar can generate is impressive, given that he stands just 5-foot-9 and weighs only 180 pounds. "It's funny because growing up, I was actually a bigger kid,'' he said. "And I think that's why I don't have any issues whenever somebody makes fun of me because I'm short. And I never have any problems, I don't have Little Man's Syndrome, because I was always a bigger kid. And then, when I was 12 I just stopped growing. I think I was about 5-foot-8 when I was 12 and I grew maybe another inch after that. "So, I always had a good arm. I played outfield growing up. I played center field. And I always had a good arm from the outfield. Pitching really started becoming my craft at the end of my high school career. And that's when my velocity started going up.''