Seattle Mariners

Mariners end trip with weekend series in Cleveland (Apr 28, 2017)

Published Apr. 28, 2017 4:04 a.m. ET

CLEVELAND -- The wounded, road-weary Seattle Mariners will be in Cleveland Friday night to begin a three-game series against the defending American League champion Indians.

For Seattle, the series will be the last leg of a 10-game, 11-day, three-city trip that started in Oakland and Detroit.

The Mariners arrive in Cleveland having already placed nine players on the disabled list this season, six of whom are still on the DL. It had been seven, but on Thursday the Mariners reinstated right-hander Rob Whalen (right shoulder inflammation) and optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma. They also assigned outfielder Leonys Martin outright to Tacoma.

Among those still on Seattle's DL are starting pitchers Felix Hernandez (right shoulder inflammation) and Drew Smyly (left arm flexor strain), plus outfielder Mitch Haniger, who was hitting .338 when he was placed on the DL on Wednesday with a strained right oblique.

Despite their challenging schedule -- they will play 17 of their first 26 games on the road -- and lengthy list of injured players, the Mariners lead the American League in runs scored. They are 3-4 on their trip so far. That includes winning two out of three from the Tigers in Detroit.

After losing 19-9 in their first game in Detroit, the Mariners came back to win 8-0 and 2-1.

"We got outscored in the series, but we'll take it," Seattle manager Scott Servais said after the 2-1 win Thursday. "That's getting back to playing our style of ball. We had a rough night the first night here and they scored some runs against us. We didn't pitch very well. Our guys washed it off, got back out there and won the series, and we need to continue to build momentum on the road. Getting a series here is really big for us."

The Mariners will be facing an Indians team coming off a dramatic and well-played three-game series with the Houston Astros. Cleveland lost the first game 4-2, but won the last two games 7-6 and 4-3, with closer Cody Allen getting saves in both games.

Allen is 5-for-5 in save situations. He had a four-out save Wednesday; in 17 career saves of four or more outs, his ERA is 0.77. Allen came back and got a more conventional three-out save on Thursday. In his nine appearances, this year Allen has pitched nine innings and has 18 strikeouts and one walk.

Allen throws in the mid-90s, with a curveball that can be devastating.

"His curveball right now is as good as we've ever seen it," manager Terry Francona said. "It's not just good, but he's consistent with it."

The pitching matchup Friday will be Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 1.65 ERA) vs. Seattle left-hander Ariel Miranda (1-2, 4.35).

Carrasco is off to a strong start. He ranks sixth in the American League in ERA and has pitched into the sixth inning and allowed two or fewer runs in each of his first four starts. In two starts against Seattle last year, Carrasco was 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA. He has made four career appearances, three starts, against the Mariners and is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA.

Miranda, who will be making his fifth start of the season, has never faced Cleveland.