The Mariners are in the middle of one of their toughest road trips of the season. They were not able to win the series in Baltimore, and now have to play a 4-game series against the best team in the American League, the New York Yankees. Make no mistake: This will be a tough series for the Mariners. The Yankees are first in runs scored, RBIs, Walks, On-base percentage, and OPS. They are also second in home runs and hits.
While the Yankees offense has been great, their pitching has been one of the best in the league as well. Even without reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, the Yankees have the lowest team ERA in the American League (2.81). They have limited opponents to a .213 batting average, slightly better than the Mariners (.215). The Mariners have their work cut out for them this week, and it all starts tonight. Winning game one of a 4-game series is huge, and the Mariners have the pitching staff to do it.
Probable pitchers for tonight's game, May 20
- The Mariners will send big right-hander Logan Gilbert to the mound tonight. Gilbert (3-2, 3.07 ERA) is coming off of a tough loss to the Kansas City Royals, where he cruised through 6 innings before giving up a 3-run home run in the 7th. The Mariners lost the game 4-2. Logan has taken losses in back-to-back games, giving up 11 earned runs in 10.2 innings over that span. The Mariners will need Gilbert to be at his best if they are to beat the Yankees tonight.
- As for the Yankees, they will give the ball to Marcus Stroman, quite the contrast to Gilbert. Stroman (3-2, 3.33 ERA) signed with the Yankees as a free agent this offseason. Stroman has a low ERA, but his WHIP (Walks + hits per inning pitched) is extremely high (1.42). Stroman's walk rate (11.2%) is over 2% higher than his previous career high, while his walks per 9 innings (4.6) is almost a full 2 walks over his career BB/9 (2.7). His saving grace has been his groundball rate, which ranks in the 91st percentile.
Seattle Mariners starting lineup, May 20
1. Josh Rojas, 2B
2. Julio Rodriguez, CF
3. Cal Raleigh, C
4. Luke Raley, LF
5. Mitch Haniger, DH
6. Dylan Moore, SS
7. Dominic Canzone, RF
8. Ty France, 1B
9. Luis Urias, 3B
New York Yankees starting lineup, May 20
1. Anthony Volpe, SS
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Aaron Judge, CF
4. Alex Verdugo, LF
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
7. Gleyber Torres, 2B
8. Jose Trevino, C
9. Jon Berti, 3B
Where can I stream tonight's game?
- Tonight's first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM PST.
- MLB.tv (Subscription required)
- fuboTV (Free trial available)
Where can I watch tonight's game?
- Mariners fans can watch tonight's game on ROOTNW
- Yankees fans can watch tonight's game on YES Network
Where can I listen to tonight's game?
- Mariners fans can listen to tonight's game on KIRO 710
- Yankees fans can listen to tonight's game on WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280
Game notes
- Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge has been on a massive tear over the month of May. His slash line is .386/.521/.912 with an OPS of 1.433. He also has clubbed 7 home runs this month.
- The other Yankees superstar outfielder Juan Soto is having a monster season. Soto is hitting .311/.411/.552/.963 with an OPS+ of 172. He has hit 11 home runs, and has more walks (32) than strikeouts (31) this season.
- Luke Raley has gone absolutely insane in the month of May for the Mariners. He is hitting .386/.438/.659 with an OPS of 1.097. He has turned himself into an everyday player.
- 3 current Yankees have hit home runs off of Logan Gilbert: Anthony Rizzo, Jose Trevino and Anthony Volpe.