CLEVELAND -- Ryon Healy was out of the Mariners' lineup Saturday because of the groin tightness he sustained in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Indians.
Healy, who is day to day, felt the groin issue running down the first-base line, when he flew out in the top of the fifth inning Friday. The conditions were cold and dreary, and manager Scott Servais wasted no time getting Healy out of the game.
“It certainly was not great conditions to play in,” said Servais. “So we got him out of there before he did something else to it.”
Dylan Moore started Saturday’s game in place of Healy, who is hitting .231 with a .759 OPS, five homers and an American League-leading 13 doubles this season. Moore went 2-for-3 with one of four solo home runs the Mariners hit in their 5-4 loss to the Indians in the first game of the three-game series.
Kikuchi plan pays off
The Mariners' plan to use Yusei Kikuchi as a one-inning “opener” essentially once a month is an unusual way to limit his innings in his first season coming over from Japan, and to say it worked Friday would be an understatement. Kikuchi had his best start of the young season, and the velocity -- he touched 97 mph -- and life he showed with his fastball was a product of the extra rest.
Seattle plans to continue to sprinkle in one-inning stints for Kikuchi.
“We’ll keep an open mind to it,” Servais said. “You’ll see it again throughout the season. Maybe towards the end of the month, it might be every five or six starts. It’s not locked, set. You’ve got to trust your eyes and feel and where he’s at. But he certainly looked great [Friday]."
Kikuchi allowed just one run in seven innings of work against the Indians and struck out 10, retiring each of the last 10 batters he faced. He had last appeared in one inning against the Angels on April 26.
Mariners acquire Adams, Curletta claimed by Red Sox
The Mariners had some movement on their 40-man roster Saturday. Seattle acquired right-hander Austin Adams from the Nationals in exchange for Minor League lefty Nick Wells and cash. Adams takes the roster spot of Joey Curletta, who was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox.
Adams, 27, will report to Triple-A Tacoma. He appeared in relief in one game for the Nats last month but otherwise has spent this season at the Triple-A level, where he allowed three runs in 10 innings with a .189 opponents’ average. Originally an eighth-round pick in 2012, Adams was involved in the trade that sent Danny Espinosa from Washington to Anaheim. He has a 3.86 ERA in nine total relief appearances in the big leagues.
Curletta was the Mariners’ Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2018. The 25-year-old Curletta, a sixth-round Draft pick, was placed on the Mariners’ 40-man roster after a strong season at Double-A Arkansas last year -- with a .282 average, .383 on-base percentage and .482 slugging percentage -- but his numbers weren’t as strong early in the 2019 season at Triple-A Tacoma (.243/.303/.400). Boston has assigned him to Double-A Portland.
Wells had been acquired with Rob Rasmussen and Jake Brentz from the Blue Jays in the 2015 trade that sent Mark Lowe to Toronto. Wells had a 5.28 ERA in 84 games in Seattle’s system.