Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview at the Yankees

Apr 19, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(29) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Initial Thoughts:

Yesterday’s game between the Mariners and the Yankees was cancelled due to some pretty awful weather on the east coast. The game has been rescheduled June 2nd, which was originally an off-day for both teams.

The Mariners are keeping Elias on the mound, while the Yanks have elected to skip David Phelps— who was replacing Michael Pineda— in the rotation.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners (11-14)

New York Yankees (15-11)

Time of Game: 4:05 PM Pacific. Location: New York City, New York.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Mariners Roenis Elias LHP (1-2, 3.54 ERA) vs. Yankees Hiroki Kuroda (2-2, 5.28 ERA).

Edge: Kuroda. Even though Elias has better numbers so far on the season, Kuroda is a veteran with legitimate Major League make-up. Though, after going 6 strong in his first 3 outs, Kuroda has not been able to match that since. Elias could very well out-duel Kuroda, but experience lends itself to giving the veteran the edge.

Probable Lineups:

Mariners:

Michael Saunders 8

Stefen Romero 9

Robinson Cano 4

Corey Hart DH

Justin Smoak 3

Kyle Seager 5

Dustin Ackley 7

Mike Zunino 2

Brad Miller 6

Of note: After giving Miller the day off so he wouldn’t have to face C.C. Sabathia, expect him back in and playing short stop. I think Almonte needs to go, permanently, after a 1-5 performance with 3 strikeouts, two of which were looking and just painful to witness. No need to play John Buck today with Zunino getting a day off yesterday with the rainout.

Yankees

Jacoby Ellsbury 8

Derek Jeter 6

Carlos Beltran 9

Brian McCann 2

Alfonso Soriano 7

Mark Teixeira 3

Yangervis Solarte 5

Brett Gardner DH

Brian Roberts 4

Of note: the Mariners pitching staff held the 3-4-5 hitters to an 0-12 line with 5 strikeouts on Tuesday. Teixeira hit a homer over the short porch, and the only other RBI came off of Gardner’s bat in the ninth when Fernando Rodney decided to try to make the game interesting. Ellsbury should be back in the lineup today after manager Joe Girardi gave him the day off on Tuesday.

Keys to Mariners Victory:

1) Sit on the short porch. Same goes as for yesterday: with righty Kuroda pitching, the lefties in the Mariners lineup should be licking their lips at the chance to hit dingers over the short fence in right field. A victory today would technically make this series a sweep for the Mariners.

2) STRIKE OUT LESS. I feel like a broken record. The Mariners had 15 hits on Tuesday, and 12 strikeouts. They didn’t walk once. Their climbing strikeout totals are troubling, especially because it’s a detriment to scoring with RISP.

Other Thoughts:

The weather is supposed to be good enough today to play this game… hopefully. Wind and rain are not the friends of baseball games, but expect this game to be played at Yankee Stadium unless a monsoon hits.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 6, Yankees 4.