Indians Game Thread (Sunday): Nick Swisher to make his Cactus League debut

The Indians host the Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark this afternoon at 3:05 ET. Audio for the game can be found on WTAM in the Cleveland area, or through MLB.TV.

After yesterday's game was canceled due to rain (way to go, Arizona!), the same pitchers scheduled to throw in that contest will instead go today. That means Aaron Harang will get the start, with Trevor Bauer following him. Each of those guys is slated for 2 innings, with Bryan Shaw, Nick Hagadone, Colt Hynes, Preston Guilmet, and Travis Banwart each penciled in for 1 inning later on in the game.

Harang and Bauer are each in the running for the fifth spot in the rotation, but they're both expected to begin the year in Columbus instead. If they want to break camp with the Indians in a few weeks, they'll need a good month of March.

Today's starting lineup:

1) Michael Bourn (CF)

2) Nick Swisher (1B)

3) Jason Kipnis (2B)

4) Carlos Santana (3B)

5) Michael Brantley (LF)

6) Asdrubal Cabrera (SS)

7) Lonnie Chisenhall (DH)

8) Yan Gomes (C)

9) David Murphy (RF)

That's not far off from the lineup the Indians might be expected to use on Opening Day, and it's the first time Terry Francona has filled out a lineup card comprised entirely of players expected to be on the 25-man roster. This will be Santana's second appearance at third base. In the first, catching a relay throw and applying the tag was the only defensive opportunity he had. I'd expect him to stay in the game for 4 innings or so, which would give him a fair chance of having a ball hit his way.

Today marks Swisher's Cactus League debut:

Typical Swish, on playing first spring game: "I'm stoked, man. I got a clean shave on today, bro. I'm just excited to get out there, man."

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 2, 2014

That's the spirit.