Cincinnati @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 26, 2010 ) Cincinnati 5, Seattle 6
The final days of the Cliff Lee experiment could be at hand for the Seattle Mariners, who begin a six-game homestand tonight against the Cincinnati Reds.
Lee (4-3, 2.88 ERA) was acquired with much hype last December after helping Philadelphia return to the World Series. It was hoped that Lee and Saturday’s starter, Felix Hernandez, would give the Mariners a 1-2 punch that would lead them to the top of the American League West.
The opposite has happened. The Mariners (25-41) are 16 games under .500 and 13 games out of first place in the division.
Now Lee, who is eligible to become a free agent after this season, is the subject of several trade rumors and could be gone in a matter of weeks. If the Mariners keep him until the non-waiver trade deadline of July 31, he would make a maximum of eight more starts.
Lee has an extraordinary 60-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 68 2/3 innings and has allowed just two home runs. He also was the 2008 AL Cy Young winner, all accolades that enhance his trade value.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik acknowledges the Mariners have received interest from other clubs about trading Lee, but Zduriencik remains steadfast that Seattle is not looking to trade Lee and holds out hope they can get back in the division race.
Zduriencik is likely deluding himself that the Mariners have any chance to bounce back and win the AL West. Consider this: If the Mariners were to win every series over the next six weeks, they would not even reach .500 until early August.
Cincinnati (37-30) leads the National League Central and is making its first trip west, a place the Reds have not exactly enjoyed in recent years. The Reds were 2-7 on the West Coast last season and are 13-32 there in their past four seasons. The Reds also have lost five of six against Seattle.
Lee figures to get a test from the Reds, who lead the NL in batting average (.279), runs (336), homers (83) and slugging percentage (.456).
The Reds will counter Lee with right-hander Johnny Cueto (6-1, 4.50). Cueto allowed five runs in the second inning Saturday against Kansas City, but still earned the win as the Reds rolled to an 11-5 victory.
Cueto, who has never faced the Mariners, has not lost since April 24 but he has a 9.00 ERA in June.
Cincinnati’s Arthur Rhodes pitched the eighth inning Thursday to run his scoreless streak to 27 innings, the longest by a reliever in the majors this year.
Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's victory over St. Louis to extend his interleague hitting streak to 20 games, the longest active interleague streak in the majors. He is second in the AL in batting average (.343).