SEATTLE - Dee Gordon, power-hitting center fielder?
When the Mariners acquired the speedy leadoff man from the Marlins this offseason, they immediately told him he was transitioning from a Gold Glove second baseman to center fielder. But they certainly didn't envision the slender 170-pounder slamming many home runs.
But there was Gordon on Sunday, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning against the Indians with a solo shot off reliever Dan Otero, sending the Safeco Field crowd into a frenzy.
Gordon already had put on a show in center field with a nice sliding catch in the third inning to rob Jason Kipnis of a hit in the left-center gap on a play that was ruled a 3-star catch by Statcast™, with just a 52 percent catch probability.