The Cleveland Indians are in first place in the American League Central. Sure, it is only the first week of the season, but after two seasons of miserable baseball Indians fans need something to grab on to.
Travis Hafner homered and drove in four runs as the Indians piled up 17 hits in beating the Seattle Mariners 12-3 at Safeco Field. It was Seattle’s home opener, but the Indians weren’t in the mood to let the fans or the home team celebrate.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Asdrubal Cabrera’s second home run of the year. It stayed that way until the 4th inning when the Indians used 10 hits to score 10 runs, blowing the game wide open.
The beneficiary of all those runs and hits – Carlos Carrasco – went six innings for the win. Carrasco allowed just one run on four hits with six strikeouts.
Jason Vargas took the loss for Seattle who has lost five straight games after winning their first two of the season. For the Indians, it was their fifth straight win after two losses.