Indians at Mariners
Yonder Alonso finished the 2017 season with the Seattle Mariners and it did not take him long to make his former team regret letting him walk in free agency. Alonso got the Cleveland Indians off to a fast start with a first-inning grand slam in Saturday's 6-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners, setting up Sunday's rubber match of the three-game series.
An All-Star with Oakland a year ago, Alonso clubbed 28 homers between the Athletics and Mariners before moving on to Cleveland, which he led with seven blasts during spring training. Catcher Yan Gomes supplied the lone run for the Indians with a bloop single in the season-opening 2-1 loss and delivered what proved to be the decisive hit Saturday - a two-run shot for a 6-3 lead. The Mariners are holding their breath over an injury to slugger Nelson Cruz, who twisted his ankle while walking down the dugout stairs Saturday after his second homer in as many games. Cruz, who led the American League in RBIs (119) and was fourth in homers (39) last season, is scheduled for an MRI exam on Sunday.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), ROOT Sports Northwest (Seattle)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Trevor Bauer (2017: 17-9, 4.19 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Mike Leake (2017: 10-13, 3.92)
A former No. 3 overall draft pick in 2011, Bauer had a breakout season with the Indians a year ago and was immense over the second half, winning 10 of his last 11 decisions. The 26-year-old was denied a victory at Seattle on Sept. 22, when he went seven innings and allowed one run on five hits. Bauer is 1-4 with a 4.74 ERA versus the Mariners, but he owns a 2.25 ERA in four starts at Safeco Field
Leake was acquired by Seattle for the stretch run at the end of August last season and was impressive in his five starts, compiling a 3-1 record and 2.53 ERA while surrendering a total of nine earned runs and walking only two batters over 32 frames. The one loss with Seattle came against Cleveland in his final regular-season start, when he permitted three runs over seven innings. Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is 6-for-17 against Leake.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners LF Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4 to move into sole possession of 21st place on the all-time hits list with 3,082.
2. Indians 3B Jose Ramirez, who clubbed 29 homers and batted .318 last year, is hitless in eight at-bats.
3. Seattle placed C Mike Zunino on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a strained left oblique.