Marlins bring sputtering offense into Cleveland

The Cleveland Indians hope their day off Monday gave their tired arms time to recover before the Miami Marlins arrive for a two-game interleague series starting Tuesday.

With the bullpen imploding and the starting pitching struggling, the Indians were outscored 19-5 by the Atlanta Braves over the final 14 innings of their weekend series. Cleveland blew a seven-run lead in a demoralizing 8-7 setback Saturday and fell behind 11-0 in an 11-5 defeat on Sunday.

The Indians turn to veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 7.41 ERA) on Tuesday. After a couple of rough starts, he struck out 12 and scattered three hits over seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win at Seattle in his last appearance on Wednesday.

"I felt way different. My mechanics were there. I got my tempo back," Carrasco said.

Carrasco dominated the Marlins in his only previous career start against them, allowing six hits while striking out 11 in 7 1/3 scoreless innings on Sept. 2, 2016.

Being shut out is nothing new for Miami, which was blanked for the third time in five games and sixth this season in Sunday's 5-0 loss against Washington.

Outfielder Lewis Brinson is one of the many struggling Marlins hitters, stuck in a 1-for-27 stretch with 16 strikeouts in his last 11 games.

"Just trying to have a better approach, to get in a better spot to hit and recognize pitches," the 24-year-old Brinson said. "I'm trying to get in a better position. I was there at the beginning of the season, and once the season started, I kind of got away from that. Refining it and trying to get back to where I was."

While Don Mattingly has often expressed letting Brinson find his way, the Miami manager admitted that the sputtering team has to keep its options open.

"Last year, we were really patient," Mattingly said. "To the point that we wanted to let him get that experience. We also talked about -- it probably wouldn't be that same amount this year.

"You're always looking at your roster, what makes us better right now, what's the best for the guys. You're always looking to make your club a little bit better."

Outfielder Curtis Granderson isn't singing a much better tune after going 4-for-37 in his last 11 games, although he is 6-for-14 with two homers and four RBIs in his career against Carrasco.

Miami right-hander Pablo Lopez (1-3, 5.85) has followed a win in his season-opening start with three straight losses, although he allowed just two runs on five hits in five innings of a 4-0 defeat to the Chicago Cubs last week.

Lopez will be making his 15th career start overall and first against Cleveland on Tuesday, although the 23-year-old Venezuelan has faced Carlos Santana (1-for-2) and Jake Bauers (0-for-3, two strikeouts).

--Field Level Media

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