All right, so I was wrong on both counts. It wasn't a slugfest (I must've forgot that the Mariners were playing ...) and the M's came out on top, beating Jake Westbrook and the Indians 3-1.

To sum the game up, the Mariners were very methodical in tonight's victory. Washburn came on, and for the first time this season, bested Cleveland with hardly any difficulty. Jarrod needed less than 100 pitches as he pitched into the seventh, allowing five hits and a run as he did so. It was reminiscent of the last time he faced Cleveland, last May 7, in which Jarrod pitched seven innings and only gave up four hits and two runs, but was on the losing end of a C.C. Sabathia 2-0 shutout. After Jarrod left, Mark Lowe took over in the seventh and pushed his scoreless inning streak up to 10, and Putz- unfortuantely referred to as "The Plug" by the M's radio crew- slammed the door shut on the Tribe in the ninth for his twenty-first save. Methodical, indeed.

Tonight one run wasn't going to do it for the Tribe. The M's manufactured a run in the third on a Yuniesky Betancourt double, wild pitch, and then a chopper hit to short by Willie Bloomquist. After the Indians tied it, the M's made one of their rare usage of the long ball, using home-runs by Raul Ibanez and new addition Ben Broussard to complete the scoring, and give Jarrod his first win in six weeks.

This series against the Indians so far is the exact opposite of the one that was played between the two clubs last April. Listening to those games, I was in awe over the offensive depth that was in the Indians' line-up. It appeared every batter was a tough out, and in the game that Washburn pitched against them on April 11, in which the Indians teed of jarrod for nine runs and six hits in his second start for the Mariners, it just seemed that there were no easy outs in this Cleveland line-up, and they would just pile on the singles until the eventual three-run home-run. In that early April series at Jacobs Field, neither the Mariners or the Indians were having trouble scoring runs. The two teams combined to score 48 runs over the three games. In the first two games of this series, the two teams have combined to score 5. What gives?

It doesn't matter, as long as the Mariners win. Beltre didn't help with the Mariners' victory tonight, going 0-for-3 to snap his nine-game hitting streak. With both Beltre's hitless night and Sexson going 0-for-4, tonight's win was one of the rare instances in which Beltre & Sexson will combine to go for 0-for-7 and the Marienrs still came out on top. Saints be praised!

Tomorrow's pitching match-up reeks of uncertainty, and I'm going to offer my slugfest prediction for a second game in a row. Joel Pineiro takes the mound for Seattle, and though he may have pitched well as of late- giving up five earned runs over his last 12 innings pitched- he's still, well, Joel Pinero. While it may be true that Joel kept the Indians to one run over eight innings at Safeco last May, it should also be pointed out that Pineiro has a career 6.10 ERA and 1.55 WHIP versus the Indians. Casey Blake and Victor Martinez have hit Joel hard, combining to hit .391 (9-for-23) off of him. And the Indians' big bopper, Travis Hafner, has three hits in four at-bats against Joel. None of the Indians, however, have eye-catching power numbers of Joel, so that's encouraging.

Cliff Lee is Joel's opponent, taking the hill for the Indians. Lee was a one-time shining star for the Indians, who won 18 games last year for the Indians, good enough to tie for second in the league. His luster has worn off from his shine a bit, however, as Lee has struggled to a medicore 9-8 record with a 4.78 ERA this season. After a sterling June, in which Lee went unbeaten in four decisions with a 3.09 ERA, Lee has struggled the past month for Cleveland, going 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA. However, considering he has a 5-1 career won-loss recod against Seattle with a 4.03 ERA, tomorrow's match-up may just be what Lee needs to right his ship.

Adrian Beltre has struggled mightily against Lee, only able to put up a double in fifteen career at-bats against Lee, so don't expect any offensive heroics from Beltre in tomorrow's game. Here's hoping that Hargrove switches AB in the line-up, and has Eduardo Perez bat third against the Indians' left-hander. Perez may have a small number of at-bats agaisnt Lee in his career- just eight- but he has put up four hits including a home-run in that small sample size. I wouldn't be surprised by a multiple-hit night from Perez. And dear God, let Hargrove do something crazy like bat Perez third....!

If Perez bats third, or somewhere in the line-up that he'll have a good number of at-bats with runners on, then I like the M's chances to win tomorow's ballgame. But if not, then I'm going to have give the game to the Indians, simply due to the pitching match-up. It is Cliff Lee agaisnt Joel Pineiro after all. It should be a no brainer. 7-5 Indians, with Beltre having his second hitless game in a row...