Mariners at Indians
Carlos Santana has found his top form again after suffering through a brief slump and hopes to continue the hot hitting when the Cleveland Indians go for a three-game sweep of the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon. Santana was batting .397 before going 1-for-23 during a six-game stretch, but is 8-for-20 in the past five contests after belting the go-ahead, two-run homer in the Indians' 5-4 victory Saturday.
Santana boasts four homers in his last five games after launching just one in the first 25 contests this season and leads the way with 19 RBIs for Cleveland, which has won the first two of seven on its homestand after dropping three of the previous four on the road. Cody Anderson makes his first major league start since 2016 for the Indians and Seattle counters with rookie Erik Swanson, whose best start this season was against Cleveland on April 17, when he yielded one run over six frames of a 1-0 setback. The Mariners are in jeopardy of falling back to the .500 mark despite a 13-2 start to the season after losing the last six contests while permitting 53 runs and wasted four solo home runs in Saturday’s defeat. Former Indians designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion launched his ninth homer in the loss and has gone deep in three of his last seven contests.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Erik Swanson (0-3, 6.62 ERA) vs. Indians RH Cody Anderson (0-0, 5.40)
Swanson makes his fourth start and fifth appearance overall, looking for his first major league victory. The 25-year-old Ohio native struggled in his last two trips to the mound while allowing 14 runs (10 earned) on 18 hits - four homers - across 9 2/3 innings combined. Jake Bauers had a solo homer and a single last month against Swanson, who struck out a season-high five in that matchup.
Anderson has made three appearances out of the bullpen this year, permitting three runs over five innings, and will be given a chance to win a spot in an injury-plagued rotation. The 28-year-old California native missed all of the 2017 season and did not pitch in the majors in 2018 due to Tommy John surgery. Anderson, who went 9-8 for Cleveland in 2015 and 2016, yielded two hits over six scoreless innings at Triple-A Columbus earlier this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Seattle DH Daniel Vogelbach hit his career-high ninth homer Saturday and owns a .442 on-base percentage with 22 walks.
2. Bauers had a pair of hits and an RBI on Saturday and is 9-for-27 in his last nine games.
3. Mariners 1B-3B Ryon Healy (five homers, 21 RBIs) is day-to-day after missing Saturday’s game with groin tightness.