Mariners Game Notes: M’s Start Big Road Trip In Cleveland

The Seattle Mariners (25-32) will look to start their 8-game road trip off right, as they take on the Cleveland Indians (27-29) in the opener of a 3-game series on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 pm from Progressive Field in Cleveland, right across the street from Quicken Loans Arena, which is bound to be packed with game 3 of the NBA finals going on tonight. Roenis Elias (2-3, 2.94 ERA) will have to be spectacular for the Mariners, because the Indians will counter with last season’s AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber (3-6, 3.61 ERA). Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch on connected devices.

The M’s will enter tonight’s game on an absolutely abysmal note, going 2-8 in their past ten games. Seattle continues to trend in the wrong direction in the American League West standings, now sitting in 4th place, 8 games back of the division leading Houston Astros.

Mariners’ manager Lloyd McClendon and Indians’ manager Terry Francona have released the following lineups for tonight’s game.

Logan Morrison Again Batting Leadoff for the Mariners

Mariners’ manager Lloyd McClendon is going with LoMo again tonight at the lead-off spot, and as surreal as it is for me, this looks to be a mainstay against righties in Lloyd’s ever evolving Mariners’ lineup. In his last seven games, Morrison is hitting an impressive .375. However, he hasn’t been able to find his power stroke, as all of his base knocks have been singles. He also has 0 RBIs in his past seven games, and maybe because those power numbers and RBI numbers are down, this is why we are seeing him in the lead-off spot. Another thing worth noting is Austin Jackson, the M’s hottest hitter, is slotted in the two hole and Robinson Cano has been moved to the three hole where M’s fans are more used to seeing him.

Big Road Trip

As terrible as the Mariners have been, if they can string together a good road trip, they’ll be right back in the thick of things. The Tribe took it to the Mariners at the end of May, but I firmly believe that if Seattle plays the way they are capable of, they could return the favor this week in Cleveland. On Friday, the M’s will travel to Houston to battle the first place Astros. If Seattle can find a way to gain a couple games in Houston, they’ll be right back in this race.

Jun 5, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Austin Jackson (16) hits a triple in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field. The Rays beat the Mariners 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

Pick to Click

The M’s are facing Corey Kluber again. Kluber absolutely mowed the Mariners down last week at Safe Field. Seattle has been extremely strikeout prone recently, thus tonight’s game is going to be another tough one. I’m going to go with the Mariners’ hottest hitter, and have Austin Jackson as my pick to click. He’s been hitting a scorching .462 over his last seven games. He has added a home run and a triple, to go with four RBIs. He’s got two doubles off of Kluber lifetime, and I look for him to go 2-4 today with a double and a run scored tonight.

Final Score Prediction

The Mariners are playing some terrible baseball recently, and this matchup doesn’t give me much hope. Roenis Elias has been phenomenal for the Mariners, but Corey Kluber and his strikeout stuff will be too much for these Mariners. I look for the Indians to come out on top, with a 4-2 victory over the M’s.

Be sure to check back at SoDo Mojo following the game for a full recap of tonight’s victory. (Fingers crossed!)

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