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(Sports Network) - The Cleveland Indians will try to prevent a third straight loss this evening when they open a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners at Progressive Field.

After winning five straight games to get back to .500, the Indians dropped the final two games of their three-game set with the New York Yankees, falling 5-2 in Monday's finale.

Aaron Laffey (0-1), who was taking the spot of an injured Jake Westbrook, didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning when the Yankees got four runs thanks to three infield hits, a hit batsman with the bases-loaded and a pair of RBI groundouts.

Franklin Gutierrez had two hits and scored once, while Jason Michaels had two hits and an RBI in the loss. Victor Martinez also extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Cleveland was again without star outfielder Grady Sizemore, who missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle. He had held the league's longest active games played streak at 382 consecutive games before sitting out Sunday to rest the injury.

Heading to the hill tonight for the Tribe will be 24-year-old righty Fausto Carmona, who has won his last two starts. Carmona defeated the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, as he allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings to run his record to 3-1 to go along with a 2.89 earned run average.

Carmona has faced the Mariners twice (one start) and is 1-1 against them with a 7.88 ERA.

Seattle will counter with veteran righty Carlos Silva, who is 3-0 with a 2.83 on the year. Silva recorded a no-decision on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles and surrendered a pair of runs and six hits in six frames of a 3-2 loss.

Silva is 4-6 lifetime against the Tribe with a 5.30 ERA in 17 games, 16 of which have been starts.

Seattle also enters tonight's tilt on a sour note after losing two of three over the weekend to the Oakland Athletics, including a 4-2 setback in Sunday's finale at McAfee Coliseum. Yuniesky Betancourt homered in the loss, while Adrian Beltre went 1-for-3 with a run batted in for the Mariners, who have dropped four of their last five overall.

Felix Hernandez (2-1) threw seven brilliant innings, but faltered in the eighth by giving up four runs, to absorb the loss. Hernandez also struck out 10 batters, giving him a major-league leading 41 K's on the year.

Cleveland won four of seven from the Mariners last season and is 15-11 in the series since the start of the 2005 season. Seattle, though, is 6-6 in its last 12 at Progressive Field.