Designated hitter Travis Hafner, activated earlier in the day, hit a grand slam in a seven-run seventh inning.
UPDATED: 8:07 p.m.
Travis Hafner shows his pleasure after belting a grand slam to break open Sunday's Indians game against Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners. The Indians salvaged one game of the three-game series with a 9-1 victory.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Travis Hafner decided against easing back into the flow.
Instead of going on a brief rehab assignment, the Indians' DH opted to be activated from the disabled list Sunday in time to face one of baseball's best, Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez.
For three at-bats, it did not seem like a wise choice. Hafner hit a dribbler to third base and struck out twice.
Asked what he was thinking after the second whiff, Hafner chuckled and said: "Maybe I should have gone on the rehab assignment."
One inning later, though, Hafner brought the thunder. With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Hafner ripped a fat pitch from King Felix into the Tribe bullpen in center field as part of a 9-1 victory at sun-soaked Progressive Field.
The Indians scored seven runs with two outs in the seventh to take a 7-0 lead. Right-hander Justin Masterson and four relievers combined to allow three hits as the Tribe (49-69) avoided a three-game sweep by an awful road team.
Seattle slipped to 46-72 overall, 17-40 on the road.
Hernandez, using an assortment of filthy stuff, gave up two hits through six. He had struck out seven and kept the pitch count relatively low.
"Felix got in a groove and basically was toying with us," Indians manager Manny Acta said.
The error appeared to unnerve the emotional Hernandez.
Struggling Lou Marson punched a full-count single into the hole at second, Valbuena advancing to third. Michael Brantley fell behind, 0-2, before socking a 2-2 pitch up the middle for an RBI single.
Asdrubal Cabrera produced an RBI double to center, Brantley stopping at third. Shin-Soo Choo was intentionally walked ahead of Hafner.
"When they walk Choo to get to you, you kind of take it personal," Hafner said. "You want to do some damage."
Hernandez's 2-1 pitch stayed up and veered into Hafner's swing plane. Seconds later, the Tribe led, 6-0. Hafner has cracked two grand slams this year and 11 in his career, all with Cleveland. He ranks second in club history in slams, trailing Manny Ramirez (13).
Sean White relieved Hernandez and gave up a homer to left by Jayson Nix. It was the second time this season the Tribe has gone back-to-back.
Just like that, the Indians went from having one player with double-digit homers to three. Hafner and Nix are chasing Choo, who has 14.
Nix is getting mileage out of a .238 average. His 10 homers have come in 185 official at-bats.
Hafner had been placed on the disabled list Aug. 3, retroactive to July 29, because of right-shoulder inflammation. His previous game was July 28.
"I felt like Travis showed some leadership just by activating himself without going on rehab," Acta said. "He was very reassuring and affirmative that he was ready. I thought that was a great gesture, because we need him. Even if he's not in the greatest shape swing-wise, his presence, alone, helps."
At age 33, Hafner is the oldest on the Tribe's active roster, which features eight rookies. His 173 career homers are by far most on the club.
"Whenever you miss some time, the subject of a rehab assignment comes up," Hafner said. "It lets you see some pitching and get some at-bats under your belt. But I didn't think I'd been gone that long, the shoulder feels good, and I was eager to get back at it. I don't like being out of the lineup."
The Indians are off Monday before beginning a three-game series in Kansas City. The Royals' starter Tuesday night is right-hander Zack Greinke, who won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award. Hernandez finished second last season.
"I like this scenario," Hafner said. "Those are two good challenges right away. You always want to measure yourself against the best."
Hafner is hitting .266 in 83 games. In his last nine, he is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with two homers and eight RBI.
Right-shoulder trouble has forced Hafner to the DL in each of his last three seasons. He played 57 games in 2008 before undergoing surgery that October to clean out the joint. He played 94 games on a managed scheduled last season.
Hafner said this year's shoulder issue is different from those of the previous two. Therefore, he will not use the words chronic, shoulder and ailment in the same sentence.
"The inflammation started because of a rain delay game, when I had problems getting loose," he said. "It was an isolated situation. Going forward, I expect the shoulder to be in a good spot.
"This year feels better than last year, and last year felt better than 2008. Next year, I think it should be pretty close to normal."