The Indians thoroughly enjoyed the Mariners’ visit. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball, more than any other sport, is all about numbers. This was the case even before the sabermetric craze that divides analysts today and inspires numerous a JJ Keller column on this website. In this new segment, I take a look at the numbers that shaped a series, beginning with the disastrous sweep in Cleveland this past weekend.

75 – Percent of the games that ended in Cleveland walkoffs. Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes all delivered game-ending hits against Mariner relievers in the series. This brutal stretch of three paintful defeats in four actually isn’t unprecedented for Seattle, who suffered a similar feat at the hands of the Orioles and Indians back in May of 2011. Avoid Cleveland in May is good advice for Seattlelites. Actually, just avoid Cleveland in general.

5 – Earned runs allowed by both Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma in their Sunday-Monday starts. Felix took his third loss of 2013 while the Mariners continued to hit for Iwakuma, and he earned a no decision. The Mariners cannot win wiht their one-two punch leaking runs like both did this weekend.

3 – Home runs Mariners hit off of Chris Perez in his two appearances in the series. When Perez came in with a two run lead and quickly retired the first two Mariners he faced, the game was assumed over. But back-to-back jacks from Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak gave the Mariners new life (which they would soon extinguish). In Monday’s ninth inning, Perez served up a lead-off, pinch-hit homer to Endy Chavez of all people.

11 – Hits allowed in 5.1 innings by Joe Saunders Saturday in what Root Sports analysts were calling “a good start” from the veteran lefty. No! That was a terrible start! Are you crazy? The wind knocked down a home run and gifted him a double play and he still gave up a home run to the next batter he faced! No more road Joe please.

430 – Pitches thrown by Mariners starters, in appearances that ranged between five and six innings in length. Only Brandon Maurer produced a quality start of the four. All four threw over 100 pitches.

2 (but really 3) – Errors committed by pitchers in Monday morning’s horrendous 10-8 loss. Iwakuma made an early error and Charlie Furbush screwed up a late sacrifice bunt play but the error was charge to Smoak. But none was more glaring or costly than Tom Wilhelmsen’s clank job as he stepped on first for the game’s final out. That error marked Wilhelmsen’s first blown save of 2013 in 12 chances.

7 – Batters retired consecutively by Danny Farquhar in his first appearance with the Mariners. He struck out five of them, but his great performance will be lost in the shuffle of an overall terrible series.

1 – Home run on the season for Brendan Ryan, who turned the corner in Cleveland. He went 5-for-13 with his first two extra base hits of 2013. Will he go on a tear and fight his way over the Mendoza line now? Who knows?

The Mariners play at 7:05 PT in Anaheim tonight and will try and snap the four-game skid this horrific series put them on.

Brian Heise: The Mariners have spent the past few years stockpiling young talent, especially for the everyday lineup, but have yet to see real results from Dustin Ackley, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, etc. Is it just growing pains or is something else going on here that is cause for concern?

Me: Some of it is growing pains, but some of it seriously worrying. Montero especially has struggled behind the plate and with the bat, so his days at catcher appear numbered. Smoak and Ackley have improved their approaches at the plate this year, but as the number show, there’s still a ton of room for growth, especially relative to their expectations. Smoak has hit well from the left side of the plate in 2013 (he’s a switch hitter), and his walk numbers are way up.

The Mariners’ next catcher, Mike Zunino. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

BH: There’s a lot of hype surrounding Mike Zunino. Do you think we’ll see him with the Mariners this season and, more importantly, is the hype warranted?

Me: Zunino is an interesting case, because he was tearing it up in AAA before strikeouts launched him into a massive slump. He’s not ready for the bigs as of yet, but he might see time later in the summer, depending on how the Montero situation plays out. I fully expect him to be the organization’s catcher of the future once the Montero experiment ends.

BH: How did you feel about the recent extension the Mariners gave to Felix Hernandez? Sound financial investment, or are they playing with fire by committing so much to a player with a lot of mileage on his arm even though he’s still only 27?

Me: It’s hard to quantify how much Felix Hernandez means to this organization in dollar value. He IS the Mariners. So when the big seven year extension came down this winter, nobody in Seattle was too concerned. The Mariners need Felix, not only from a baseball standpoint, but from a financial and perception standpoint as well. In my opinion, no dollar amount was too much to lock up the Seattle sports superstar for the foreseeable future.

BH: What were your expectations for the Mariners heading into 2013 and how do you feel about them midway through May?

Me: I expected them to show improvement, and so far, I’m content with where they are. They come into this weekend at 20-21, in second place in the AL West and having won five of their last six series. I said 80 wins would be an ambitious goal for this team, and they are right on track so far. The difference from the 2012 team is they have two MLB middle-of-the-order mashers in Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse that make them competitive from a hitting standpoint. If they can win games with their three through five spots in the rotation, they could contend for a wild card spot.

BH: What’s your prediction for the series?

Me: The easy prediction here is a split, with the Mariners winning the two games started by Felix and Iwakuma Sunday and Monday. I’m most looking forward to the Felix vs. Justin Masterson match-up Sunday. Masterson looked great in game one of the doubleheader against the YankeesMonday, and Felix will be battling a stiff back. I’ll stick with a split, but I think the Indians beat Felix and the Mariners beat Ubaldo Jimenez tonight.

Justin Masterson shutout the Yankees Monday morning. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

In game one, Justin Masterson shined for Cleveland. The former Red Sox pitcher threw a complete game four-hit shutout and struck out nine Yankees while walking three. Cleveland got on the board in the first with a solo shot from second baseman Jason Kipnis, and that’s all they would need or get, as they won 1-0.

David Phelps pitched well for the Yankees, allowing just the Kipnis home run and four other hits in 6.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked five.

In the second game, Yankee pitchers Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren combined for a shutout of their own. Nuno started the game, allowing just three hits and striking out three for his first win of 2012, while Warren surrounded just two base knocks in four innings of work for his first career save. The Yankees broke out the bats late in the game, and won the finale 7-0.

Indians starter Trevor Bauer shook off an early first inning run and went six solid innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Austin Romine chased Bauer with a one-out RBI double, and Nick Hagadone surrendered five more runs as the Yankees blew the game open.

A few takeaways. First, the Yankees game two lineup is hilarious, both because of who they played and the fact that they won convincingly. Have a look:

1.  Brett Gardner CF
2. Jason Nix 3B
3. Robinson Cano DH
4. Vernon Wells LF
5. Lyle Overbay 1B
6. Ben Francisco RF
7. Corban Joseph 2B
8. Alberto Gonzalez SS
9. Austin Romine C

Look at that! This is the NEW YORK YANKEES! A starting infield of Nix, Overbay, Joseph, and Gonzalez? That’s a AAA lineup by most standards. Yet the Yankees keep winning, scored seven runs, and improved to 24-14. It’s inexplicable to me how they are playing so well.

Second, The Mariners will likely see both Masterson and Bauer in next weekend’s series, probably on Saturday and Sunday. Masterson looks dangerous, and he’ll likely face Joe Saunders ON THE ROAD. So chalk that one up as a loss for Seattle. Bauer looked decent, but ran out of gas in the seventh. That’s not a huge problem, except he’ll need everything he can muster when he faces Felix Hernandez Sunday. That game looks a little better for the Mariners.

Felix takes the mound Tuesday night in New York against CC Sabathia at 4:05 PT.