Mariners at Indians
Slugger Edwin Encarnacion could be starting to break out of an early-season slump and hopes to keep it going when his Cleveland Indians host the Seattle Mariners on Saturday afternoon for the third of a four-game series. Encarnacion, batting .180 overall, was one of five Indians to go deep in a 6-5 victory Friday to extend his hitting streak to six games and he boasts two blasts while registering an RBI in each of his last four games.
Michael Brantley, who has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, and fellow All-Star Francisco Lindor each had two of Cleveland’s 10 extra-base hits Friday as the Indians evened their record at 2-2 on a giant 11-game homestand. Carlos Carrasco goes for a team-high fifth victory when he takes the mound for Cleveland on Saturday while veteran right-hander Mike Leake will try to turn his fortunes around after a pair of rough starts for Seattle. The Mariners took the opener of the four-game series 5-4 on Thursday and got a three-run homer in the ninth inning from Mike Zunino to give themselves a chance, but dropped to 5-3 on their 10-game road trip. Right fielder Mitch Haniger has five homers and 11 RBIs over his last eight games for Seattle after belting a two-run shot off two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on Friday.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports Northwest (Seattle), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Mike Leake (2-2, 6.59 ERA) vs. Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (4-0, 2.31)
Leake began the season with three solid starts, including a win against Cleveland, but has been pounded for 13 runs on 19 hits over 9 1/3 innings in his last two trips to the mound. The 30-year-old Arizona State product, who registered two quality starts in his first three appearances of 2018, gave up eight runs over 3 1/3 innings last time out against the struggling Chicago White Sox. Lindor is 3-for-9 versus Leake, who is 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA in eight career starts against the Indians.
Carrasco has strung together four quality starts and limited Baltimore to one run on six hits and two walks over 7 1/3 innings to earn his fourth win Monday. The 31-year-old Venezuelan allowed five runs across 5 2/3 innings to gain the victory in his season debut at Seattle and yielded four runs total in four outings since - totaling 29 1/3 frames. Robinson Cano is 9-for-23 with two homers and two doubles against Carrasco, who is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA in seven outings (six starts) versus Seattle.
WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle 3B Kyle Seager was 1-for-3 while scoring twice Friday and is batting .376 in his career at Cleveland.
2. Cleveland 1B Yonder Alonso has homered in back-to-back games and went deep four times in his last seven contests.
3. Mariners RHP Edwin Diaz is 11-for-11 in saves to lead the league and has struck out 25 of the 53 batters he faced.