After a day of rest on Thursday, our still-dearly-beloved Mariners return to the field tonight, facing the Cleveland Indians. Daren Brown is 2-for-3 in his first games as Mariner manager, but David Pauley, tonight's starting pitcher is still looking for his first win.
The Mariners are a team in flux right now. Obviously, they're in the hunt for a new manager. Sitting at the bottom of the West, they're also already dreaming of next year, and which players will be part of that team. Chone Figgins, it seems, just might not be one of those. Perhaps Seattle will capitalize on his sudden hot bat (hot for Figgins; he had a hit in nine games before the streak was snapped in the loss to Oakland) and get themselves out of his contract. Personally, I like Figgins, but considering I liked Ronny Cedeno, no one should take my opinion seriously. Show off a little this weekend, Chone!
For more on the clash between the Mariners and the Indians, read the preview by Sports Network:
(Sports Network) - For the first time under interim manager Daren Brown, the Mariners are coming off a loss. David Pauley earning his first major league victory would help Seattle avoid a losing streak under its new skipper.
The unlucky Pauley takes this hill this evening when the Mariners, hoping to snap a seven-game road slide, kick off a three-game series versus the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
Seattle won its first two games under Brown after he replaced the fired Don Wakamatsu prior to Monday's opener with Oakland. The Mariners outscored the Athletics 5-1 over the first two games, stretching their overall winning streak to three games, before dropping Wednesday's finale, 5-1.
Franklin Gutierrez plated the lone Seattle run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, while starter Luke French gave up four runs over a six-inning start.
"[French had] a few mistakes here and there and he didn't get by with them," Brown said. "[He was] a little up in the zone with all his pitches and he paid for it."
The loss gave Seattle a 5-4 mark on its completed homestand and the club begins a 12-game road trip through Cleveland, Baltimore, New York and Boston tonight.
They hope that trip begins with a victory, which would be the first for Pauley if he gets the decision. The 27-year-old is 0-7 in 18 major league games, including 10 starts. That career includes two seasons with the Red Sox (2006, '08) and an 0-4 mark and 3.38 earned run average in nine games (five starts) with the Mariners this year.
The sinkerballer looked like he would get his first victory versus Kansas City on Saturday as he allowed just two runs on five hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings, but Pauley instead lost a 2-1 decision.
The right-hander faces Cleveland for the first time.
Pauley's results could also depend on which Fausto Carmona shows up tonight for the Indians. The right-hander has sandwiched a pair of rough losses around a victory and is 11-9 with a 3.90 ERA this year.
Carmona was drilled for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in a setback to the Yankees on July 28, but rebounded to beat the Red Sox five days later after yielding two runs -- one earned -- over seven innings. The 26-year-old then lasted 7 1/3 frames on Saturday versus the Twins, but dropped a 7-2 decision after getting charged with five runs and 10 hits without a walk.
Indians manager Manny Acta wasn't displeased with Carmona's outing though.
"Fausto really battled for us. He gave us a chance to win the ballgame. He pitched very well and deserved better," said Acta of Carmona, who is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA in his career versus Seattle.
The Indians posted a 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Thursday to salvage the finale of a three-game series and snap a four-game slide. Trevor Crowe had two hits and drove in two runs, while Michael Brantley matched a career high with four hits.
Jeanmar Gomez improved to 3-0 after allowing just a run over six innings. The rookie righty has yielded just four earned runs in 23 1/3 major league innings so far and Cleveland has won all four of his starts.
"A well-pitched game overall," Acta said. "He was behind in the count a lot, but he made great pitches when he was behind in the count. He had that good sink on his fastball and good changeup and just made great pitches."
The Mariners and Indians are meeting for the first time this year after Cleveland took six of 10 a season ago. However, Seattle won four of seven at Progressive Field.