Indians catcher Carlos Santana wipes his forehead Wednesday as Seattle’s Dustin Ackley crosses the plate with another Mariners’ run in the fifth inning of Cleveland’s 9-2 loss at Progressive Field. (AP photo).
CLEVELAND — The Seattle Mariners are the lowest-scoring and worst-hitting ballclub in the American League.
Against the Indians, though, they look like the most explosive team on the planet.
Journeyman slugger Wily Mo Pena knocked in four runs and rookie third baseman Kyle Seager had three doubles Wednesday afternoon, powering the Mariners to a 9-2 victory over the free-falling Tribe.
The loss knocked Cleveland (63-64) below .500 for the first time since April 3, leaving the Indians six games behind Detroit in the AL Central Division with 35 games to play.
“For some reason, Seattle just beat us up and caught us at the wrong time,” said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose club has lost six of its last seven games. “Those guys hit us around pretty good the whole series.
“Really, this last week, we just didn’t pitch well, and that’s been our strength the whole season. This day off comes at a good time for us.”
Staff ace Josh Tomlin was the latest Tribe pitcher to be knocked around by Seattle (56-73), which banged out 51 hits and scored 29 runs in winning three times in the four-game set.
Tomlin (12-7, 4.25 ERA) only lasted 4 2/3 innings in the oven-like confines of Progressive Field, allowing six runs on 11 hits while striking out six. That performance also ended his MLB all-time record streak of 37 straight appearances of at least five innings to begin a career.
“I wasn’t thinking about that streak at all when I was out there, but I will now — and it doesn’t feel good,” said Tomlin, who failed in his bid to break the MLB mark of 37 consecutive, five-plus inning starts to open a career held by John Farrell.
“You don’t ever want to leave those guys (in the bullpen) out to dry, which is my worst fear. I just couldn’t put anyone away today, and every time I was missing, I was missing over the plate.”
Pena and Seager, of all people, did much of the damage from the 7-8 spots in the Mariners’ batting order. They reached base in all 10 of their plate appearances and collected five runs and five RBIs.
Designated hitter Pena, who was released by Arizona in July, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, two runs, one walk, and a hit by pitch. He ripped a two-run homer off Tomlin in the fourth and a two-run double off the right-hander one inning later.
Seager — playing in just his 23rd MLB game — was 4-for-4 with three runs, one RBI, and one walk. All three of his doubles came in the first five innings as Seattle jumped out to a 6-2 lead and disposed of Tomlin.
“We couldn’t get him out. He just caught fire and killed us,” Acta said of Seager, who hit .769 (10-for-13) in the series. “It was the bottom of the order that really hurt Josh today with him and Pena.”
Mariners righty Felix Hernandez (12-11, 3.37 ERA) earned the victory with six innings of two-run ball, scattering seven hits while striking out 10.
Jamey Wright and Josh Lueke added six whiffs in relief, raising Cleveland’s team strikeout total to a season-high tying 16.
“We’ve been leading the league in that category for two years in a row, and we’re still striking out way too much,” Acta said. “It’s unacceptable when you don’t have a team loaded with sluggers, and it’s something we’ll address in the offseason and next spring.”
Left fielder Shelley Duncan led the Indians with three hits, while first baseman Matt LaPorta and shortstop Jason Donald had two apiece. Duncan and Jack Hannahan each had one RBI, coming in the third and fourth inning, respectively.
Seattle committed four errors in the game, giving it eight in the series, but the Tribe was unable to turn any of them into runs.
Cleveland reliever Rafael Perez also contributed to the misery by giving up the Mariners’ final three runs. He walked three and gave up two hits in his lone inning, the seventh.
Adding injury to insult, Cleveland outfielder Shin-Soo Choo experienced “left trunk soreness” during batting practice and was a last-minute scratch. He is listed as day-to-day.
Additionally, Indians catcher Carlos Santana took a foul ball off his head during Brendan Ryan’s at-bat in the ninth. He exited the game with neck pain.
“We’re not the only team that goes through injuries, so we’ve got to keep playing through it,” Tomlin said. “You saw what happened to us (being swept by Detroit and overpowered by Seattle in a six-day span). That could happen to anybody.
“This week will not make or break us, hopefully.”
Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com.
