The Seattle Mariners will try to make it three-of-four and win their series with the Indians when the two teams take the field at 12:05 this afternoon in downtown Cleveland.
Josh Tomlin will try to bounce back from a tough start last Friday against Detroit; a game in which he gave up three home runs in 6.2 innings on the way to a 4-1 Tribe loss. That effort dropped Tomlin to 12-6 on the season, with Josh’s ERA climbing to 4.03.
Tomlin has beaten Seattle both times he has faced him in his career, including a 6-4 win on April 10. In that outing in Seattle, Tomlin allowed three runs in 6.2 innings.
The Mariners will send Felix Hernandez (11-11, 3.38 ERA). This will mark Hernandez’s first outing of the season vs. the Indians, against whom he is 4-3 in his career with a fine 2.78 ERA in 58.1 frames.
The Tribe comes into today back in second place in the AL Central, but now a full six games behind the Tigers, who are threatening to make a runaway of the divisional race. The Tribe sits at 63-63, and climbed a half-game ahead of the White Sox when Chicago lost late last night in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.
After today’s game, the Indians will have a day off tomorrow — their second-to-last day off of the rest of the season. Then the Kansas City Royals will come to town for a weekend series before the homestand wraps up with a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics to begin next week.