CLEVELAND — Just when their offense has begun to catch fire, the Indians will be without one of their hottest hitters when they open a stretch of nine interleague road games Friday in Pittsburgh.
With the designated hitter out of the equation in National League parks, Travis Hafner is not expected to be in the lineup for any of the games against the Pirates, Phillies (June 22-24) or Reds (June 25-27).
“It’s like life, you adjust, adapt and improvise,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “I’m going to have a good pinch hitter.”
Playing Hafner at first base doesn’t appear to be an option. He hasn’t taken infield practice there all season and hasn’t played the position in a big league game since 2007. Plus, with Hafner finally healthy, it is a risky venture to play him in the field, especially at a spot he hasn’t manned in three years.
The timing is poor for Hafner individually as well. He had his batting average up to .253 through Tuesday, thanks to a recent surge that saw him hit .364 (8-for-22) with two doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs over his last seven games. The franchise leader in homers and RBIs by a DH entered Wednesday with four homers in his last six games after hitting the same amount over his first 49 games.
Cleveland’s offense, which has held the club back for much of the year, has propelled it as of late, batting .285, while outscoring the opposition 43-26 over the last six games through Tuesday. The Indians entered Wednesday having raised their season average from .223 to .247 over the last 41 games and averaging 5.26 runs since May 25.
“In the American League, you need to score more than three runs to have a chance to win ballgames,” Acta said.
Crowe clipped
Center fielder Trevor Crowe was out of the lineup, feeling the effects of fouling a ball off his right knee Saturday against the Nationals. Crowe left that game but returned for the next two.
“It was best to rest him today,” said Acta, who replaced Crowe in the leadoff spot with Anderson Hernandez, while Austin Kearns played center.
Crowe said he expects to return to the lineup for the series finale with the Mets tonight.
Minor details
Outfielder Michael Brantley went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in Triple-A Columbus’ 11-0 shutout of Norfolk on Tuesday. Brantley, the Indians’ openingday left fielder, has been hot this month, entering Wednesday with a .354 average (17-for-48) over his last 12 games.
◾Right-hander Joe Gardner won another game for advanced Class A Kinston on Tuesday, allowing one unearned run on one hit over five innings of a 2-1 victory over Lynchburg. Gardner, a third-round draft pick last year, is 5-1 with a 1.79 ERA in his first eight starts since being promoted from Class A Lake County. He led Cleveland’s minor league pitchers with 78 strikeouts through Tuesday and ranked third with a cumulative 2.30 ERA.
Roundin’ third
The Indians entered Wednesday with a 14-29 record in interleague games over the past three seasons and an all-time mark of 116-120.
◾Cleveland signed another draft pick Wednesday, agreeing to terms with 40th-round selection Jordan Casas, an outfielder out of Long Beach State. The Indians also signed non-drafted free agents Matt Speake (RHP, Southern Arkansas), 1B Andrew Kinney (Southwest Minnesota State) and J.D. Reichenbach (Elon). The Indians have signed nine of their 50 draft picks and four non-drafted free agents.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.
