CLEVELAND (AP) -Slumping Indians first baseman Ryan Garko was benched Tuesday night against Seattle in an effort to get Cleveland’s sagging offense in gear.
Garko, in an 0-for-23 slump that sent his average plummeting to .227, was only part of the shuffle. Casey Blake moved to first base from third, where Andy Marte got the start. Designated hitter Travis Hafner remained in the lineup despite a 7-for-47 (.149) slide.
“We’ll give Ryan a day off, a little mental and physical break,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He arguably was our most consistent hitter early, but he’s been trying to do a little too much of late.
“Hafner is grinding right now, but we’ve got to let him work his way out of it.”
Hafner has appeared tentative at the plate, hitting just .219 with three homers and a team-high 26 strikeouts. Combined with a disappointing 2007 season in which his average tumbled 41 points to .267 and his homers dropped from 42 to 24, the big left-hander’s troubles are more of a concern.
“This has been prolonged,” Wedge said. “You see short spurts where he’s the hitter we know he is, but not consistently. He’s got tremendous upside and it’s our job to get him going.”
Hafner said he’s not pressing, is healthy and confident he will again become one of the AL’s most feared sluggers.
“I’m staying positive,” he said. “I feel as good physically now as I have my whole career. My bat speed is not a problem. If you take a bad swing, it’s probably not going to look like you have good bat speed.”
Expected to be one of the American League’s most productive teams, the Indians have struggled throughout April and opened a three-game set against the Mariners ranked next-to-last in batting average (.247), 12th in slugging percentage (.369) and 10th in homers (20).
The return of center fielder Grady Sizemore to the leadoff spot Tuesday after missing two games with a sprained right ankle could help. But Sizemore hasn’t been producing, either, batting just .266 with two homers.
The only regulars in Cleveland’s lineup hitting above their career averages are left fielder David Dellucci at a modest .268 and catcher Victor Martinez at .365, though his numbers are a bit misleading. He has no homers, four doubles and just nine RBIs after batting .301 with 25 homers, 40 doubles and 114 RBIs to help the Indians win the AL Central a year ago.
“Individuals need to step up their game offensively,” Wedge said.
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