Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview versus the Yankees

Initial Thoughts:

The Mariners were silenced until the 9th inning offensively in last night’s contests. The Ms wound up losing 4-2 to Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees, dropping their season record to 34-31 and their season series against the Yankees to 3-2.

Tonight’s series-ending game features an intriguing pitching matchup between two of the younger players in each of the starting rotations.

Game Info:

Seattle Mariners: 34-31.

New York Yankees: 33-31.

Game Time: 7:10 PM Pacific. Location: Seattle, Washington. Safeco Field.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Seattle Mariners LHP Roenis Elias (5-4, 3.64 ERA) v. New York Yankees RHP Chase Whitley (1-0, 2.42 ERA).

EDGE: Push. Elias has been consistently reliable and productive throughout the season since making the jump from Double-A Jackson to the Majors this season. In 5 starts since being called up, Whitley has been outstanding, sporting a sub-3.00 ERA. However his inning count is small, and so too is his sample size. The Mariners bats have been quiet of late, so this could be a game where they jump on this rookie starter.

Projected Lineups:

Mariners:

James Jones 8

Willie Bloomquist 4

Robinson Cano DH

Cole Gillespie 9

Kyle Seager 5

Logan Morrison 3

John Buck 2

Dustin Ackley 7

Brad Miller 6

Of Note: the Ms managed only 6 hits and 1 walk against Japanese stud Tanaka. He struck out 11 Mariners in his complete-game of work. Miller keeps floating around the .170 mark with his batting average– but with a hit in each of the last two games the Ms need to continue hoping that he will start to turn things around, sooner than later.

Yankees:

Brett Gardner 7

Derek Jeter 6

Jacoby Ellsbury 9

Mark Teixeira 3

Carlos Beltran DH

Brian McCann 2

Yangervis Solarte 5

Ichiro Suzuki 9

Brian Roberts 4

Of Note: the Yankees put together 10 hits and 3 walks last night against Chris Young and Co. The real damage came in the 5th inning when Teixeira clubbed a 3-run homer to right center field to blow the game open at 4-0. Carlos Beltran continues to struggle offensively for the Yankees, now batting a meager .220 on the season.

Other Notes:

Taijuan Walker is slated for another Triple-A rehab start on Saturday, the same day that Erasmo Ramirez is scheduled to pitch for the Mariners. The Ms don’t seem too inclined to rush the rookie to the Majors, so if Ramirez can put together another solid starting effort, it seems like the Mariners will delay Walker’s return until Ramirez slips up again.

Final Thoughts:

It would be tough for the Ms to start this homestand being swept at the hands of the Yankees. Oddly, the Ms have a much better record on the road this season than they do at home, but that trend needs to be stopped tonight so the Ms can get back to their winning ways.

Look for Elias to put his game face on, battle, and get the Mariners back in the win column.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 4, Yankees 3.