The Yankees are starting a 9 game road trip tonight in Seattle. Although they have played the fewest road game of any team, the road has treated the Yankees well this season as they are 10-8 which is the second best record in the league behind Tampa. The Yanks have been in and out of first place over the last few days and would like to win some games against the struggling Mariners. Lucky for the Yanks pitching staff, the Mariners are in the bottom 5 of teams in the AL for runs, home runs, and slugging.
Although the Mariners are playing sub-.500 ball, the Yankees will see the Mariners toughest pitchers, and this series will be a serious challenge for both teams. The Mariners pitching staff is 8-2 with a 1.50 ERA over their last 10 games and the Yankees will face Pineda & Hernandez in the first two games. This is going to be a tough road series for the Yankees. If the Yankees want 1st place, they will have to earn it this week on the road.
Starting Pitchers
FRIDAY: A.J. Burnett (5-3, 4.02 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-2, 2.16 ERA)
Pineda is the hottest rookie in the AL right now, with the most wins and strikeouts (61)
-Over his last 2 starts he has thrown 14 scoreless innings allowing only 5 hits and 1 walk- while striking out 16 in those two games.
Pineda is a Big Dude: 22 year old 6 foot 7” right hander weighing in at 260lbs!
Worth Noting: Pineda was the 2008 Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Year, pitching 138 innings while keeping a 1.95 ERA with 128 strikeouts. If his numbers tell us anything – we will see a lot of Yankee strikeouts tonight.
Burnett is coming off a good win against the Mets last weekend, after struggling in the first inning.
I’m really looking forward to tonight’s game as I have seen Pineda’s highlights all year long on sportscenter and baseball tonight, but haven’t actually seen a full game he pitched. Always cool to see a young pitcher dominating. Good baseball is Good baseball.
SATURDAY: Ivan Nova (4-3, 4.29 ERA) vs. “King” Felix Hernandez (5-4, 3.01 ERA)
Hernandez vs. Nova should be another good game of pitching with Nova coming off a good win last weekend against the Mets allowing only 3 runs in nearly 7 innings, while Hernandez is coming off a dominating start against the Padres with 13 strikeouts.
King Felix has struck out 26 batters in the last 3 games, but the silver lining for the Yankees is Granderson hits .324 against him all-time.
SUNDAY CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.17 ERA) vs Jason Vargas (3-2, 3.86 ERA)
Sabathia is just getting warmed up this season and pitched his first complete game on Tuesday for the win. While Vargas is 2-0 in his last 4 starts with a 1.91 ERA. Although Vargas’ last game was a tough loss to Minnesota; prior to that game he had allowed 1 run in 23 innings.
Yankees Notes
-Granderson is still smacking the hell out of the ball. Since Batting #2 in the Yankee lineup he is batting .304 with 8 HR’s.
-Arod is beginning to heat back up again - He has hit in 14 of his last 17 games.
-Rafiel Soriano Who? – He’s out until July at the earliest. This is looking like a bad signing more and more every day.
-A Tex Message: Tex has 4 home runs in his last 7 games.
*The Yankees have scored 250 runs this season & are tied with the Cardinals in the MLB for most runs scored
Mariners Notes
Keep an eye on him: Justin Smoak is the young player the Mariners picked up in that Cliff Lee trade last season that sent Lee to the Rangers. He is leading the team with 6 home runs and 26 RBI’s this season while batting .263 with a .363 OBP & .461 slugging %.
Countdown to 3000
Derek Jeter is at 2,976 hits
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