UPDATE: After waiting for over two hours to get this afternoon's game started, the Mariners vs. Indians contest has been postponed for the second straight day.
There is as of yet no word on when the game will be made up, although it is now likely that at least one doubleheader will have to be played in August when Seattle comes back to Cleveland. There is an off-day after the scheduled three-game set in August, so there will at least be a chance to get these two games played.
The Indians will now go to Kansas City and Chicago for two two-game sets, with the Royals and the White Sox, beginning on Monday night.
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After a rain-out yesterday, the Indians and the Mariners will (hopefully) get back at it and wrap up what is now a two-game series with a 1:05 game at Progressive Field on Sunday afternoon.
This one should be interesting, as the Tribe gets their first-ever look at Seattle rookie Michael Pineda, who has been getting quite the buzz around the league with his heat, which is in the high-90s range.
Pineda (4-2, 2.84 ERA) has worked at least six innings in each of his seven starts for Seattle, and in only one of those starts has he given up as many as four runs. After losing his major league debut at Texas, Pineda reeled off four wins in a row before finally losing, again to the Rangers. His last start was a no-decision against Baltimore.
Pineda has worked 44 1/3 innings and has allowed only 36 hits and 13 walks, for a WHIP (Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched) of 1.11 — pretty tough for a rookie. The right-hander has fanned 45, and has allowed only three homers.
Cleveland will send Josh Tomlin against Pineda, and of course, Tomlin has been good as well.
This will also be Tomlin’s eighth start of the season. Josh comes in with a record of 4-1 and an ERA of 2.70. He did not get a decision in his last start against Tampa Bay, but the Indians did win that game against the Rays 5-4 on a walk-off walk from Michael Brantley.
Tomlin has tossed 46 2/3 innings and also has a terrific WHIP of 0.86, having given up only 31 hits and nine walks. But Tomlin has allowed eight home runs, and has struck out 26.
After today’s game, the Indians have back-to-back two-game series in Kansas City and Chicago. The series with the Royals will get under way on Monday night.
With Detroit’s seventh straight win yesterday, the Tigers are now only 3 1/2 games behind the Tribe. So while it is not critical to win, every victory indeed does help.