Smoke signals

• Indians first baseman Nick Swisher headed into Monday's game batting .196 with three homers and 16 RBIs through 43 games. Swisher, who served as the designated hitter for Monday's game against the Tigers, went through a similar slump last year, hitting .210 across 50 games from April 21-June 28.

"I think guys, in their own way, even veterans sometimes, try too hard," Francona said. "It's coming from a good place. You try to do too much. He knows how important he is to what we're doing and he wants to be the guy bad. Sometimes that plays into the other team's hands. You're geared up for 95 [mph] and they throw it 82.

"It's amazing what a little bit of confidence will do. You get on a roll and things start going. It will change. The sooner it changes, the better for us, because he's such an important part of what we're doing."

• Swisher was on the field early on Monday to field extra ground balls at first. Defense has been a team-wide problem this year for Cleveland, which led the Majors with 45 errors through Sunday. Francona said the Indians will have a team defense workout prior to Tuesday's home game against Detroit.

• Francona noted on Monday that the Indians still plan on activating veteran designated hitter Jason Giambi from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. The 43-year-old Giambi has been out since May 5 with a strained right calf.