Texas @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 11, 2010 ) Seattle 2, Texas 9
A night 4½ months in the making has finally arrived for Seattle fans.
Cliff Lee will make his 2010 debut with the Mariners when they begin a nine-game homestand tonight with a three-game series against the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field.
Ever since the Mariners acquired Lee from Philadelphia on Dec. 15, 2009, fans have giddy with the prospect that Lee and right-hander Felix Hernandez could provide them a 1-2 pitching punch that will lead them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. No matter he could be gone in six months as a free agent, just getting him made the Mariners contenders to win the AL West.
Lee’s debut has been delayed by an abdominal strain that has slowed him the past several weeks. Lee looked sharp in a rehab for Triple-A Tacoma, throwing six scoreless innings and allowing three hits. He threw 65 pitches in that game and will be on a pitch count of about 100 tonight.
Lee certainly is one of the biggest off-season acquisitions in club history. The left-hander won the 2008 Cy Young Award after a sensational 22-3 record with Cleveland and he won two World Series games with the Philadelphia Phillies last fall.
Seattle (11-11) is no doubt happy to be coming home, where it went 7-2 on its opening homestand. The Mariners lost four straight to start their recent road trip before winning, the last two in Kansas City.
The Mariners have done well on the mound in the first month without Lee, their 3.37 team ERA ranking among the best in the American League. Generating offense has been a struggle for Seattle, which is hitting just .244 and has scored 82 runs, third worst in the AL.
Lee hasn’t exactly dominated the Rangers, sporting a 5-3 career record and 7.09 ERA against them.
Texas will also be looking for a big impact from All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler, who has been on the disabled with an injured right ankle. He will make his season debut and bat fifth. Kinsler is 7-for-13 (.538) against Lee.
Kinsler hit a career-low .253 last year but had also had career highs with 31 homers and 31 stolen bases.
Forgotten amid the Lee hoopla and Kinsler’s debut is Texas right-hander Colby Lewis (3-0), who has won three of his four starts this season. Lewis, who spent two years in Japan, earned his first victory since April 2004 when he beat the Mariners 5-1 on April 9. Lewis went seven innings, striking out three and walking four.