Mariners Eye Series Win vs Indians

Nate Karns makes his third start of the season as the Mariners look to win the series.

The Seattle Mariners (6-8) will take on the Cleveland Indians (6-6) in the rubber game of the 3-game series this morning in Cleveland. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 am PT as Nate Karns (1-1, 4.50) makes his third start of the season. Cody Anderson (0-1, 5.91) will take the mound for the Indians.

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Karns got the loss in his first start, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings pitched against Oakland on April 9. His last start on April 15 was much better. In New York, Karns got the win after pitching 5 innings and allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts. Although only giving up 1 run, he walked 4 and was constantly getting himself out of trouble. It’s hard to know what to expect out of Karns today, but if he can throw more strikes and control the strike zone, he should be able to last more than 5 innings and hopefully get the M’s a win.

Anderson has pitched 10.2 inning this season, giving up 7 runs on 15 hits. In his last start against the Mets he gave up 5 runs on 9 hits, 3 of which were homeruns, over 4.2 innings. He did strike out 5 and walk only 1 in that game though. Anderson will throw strikes, but he will make mistakes too. The Mariners lineup needs to capitalize on Anderson’s mistakes and get some big hits in order to win this game and the series.

Here are todays starting lineups as announced by Mariners skipper Scott Servais and Indians manager Terry Francona provided by Ryan Divish:

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Pick to Click

My pick to click is Robinson Cano. He’s been relatively quiet over the past couple games and I think he’ll have himself a big game today. Cano is a career .317/.364/.524 hitter against right-handed pitching, and has hit 175 of his 244 career homeruns against such pitching. I expect Anderson to leave a pitch up in the zone for Cano who will deposit it into the right field seats. Cano will finish going 3-4 with a homerun and a pair of singles, driving in 3 and scoring a run.

Final Score Prediction

The Mariners will win this one 7-4 behind a good performance from the lineup and a solid start from Karns. The M’s lineup will jump on Anderson early and make him work while Karns will allow 3 or 4 runs in this one. The bullpen will be good for both teams, but Cleveland will rely on theirs more and could end up leaving one of their arms in the game a batter too long. I don’t see game 3 being quite the pitcher’s dual the first 2 games were.

Next: Mariners Win Pitchers Duel in Cleveland

You can watch the game on Root Sports or you can stream it through MLB.tv on your connected devices. Pacific Northwest fans can listen to the game live on 710 ESPN. And be sure to follow SoDo Mojo on twitter for live updates throughout the game, and check back after the final out has been recorded for a full recap. Go Mariners!