Seattle @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 3, 2010 ) Seattle 1, Detroit 6
At this point, any start Cliff Lee makes in a Seattle Mariners uniform could be his last.
Lee will be looking to increase his trade value and give Mariners fans another strong performance when he takes the mound against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Lee, 31, is at the top of the list for any contending team in need of a front-line starting pitcher for the stretch run this season. A free agent after the 2010 campaign, Seattle brought Lee in over the winter in a trade with the Phillies in the hopes that a top two of Lee and Felix Hernandez would lead them back to the postseason.
But while the rotation - especially Lee and Hernandez - has been tremendous, the offense hasn’t lived up to expectations. The Mariners rank last in the American League in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In fact, the only major offensive category in which the Mariners aren’t anchored to the basement is triples, where they rank 11th.
The anemic offense has Seattle mired in last place in the AL West, leaving the club in the position to trade Lee for as much as they can get before he leaves in free agency over the winter. Plenty of teams will be in on the bidding, with the Minnesota Twins at the top of the pile as they search for ways to stay in front of the Tigers in a tight AL Central race.
Lee has proven in the past that he has no trouble switching teams or leagues at the deadline. Last season he went from the Cleveland Indians to Philadelphia in a deadline deal and posted a 7-4 record with a 3.39 ERA in 12 regular season appearances for Phillies before dominating in the postseason and earning two wins in the World Series.
After missing the first month of the 2010 campaign due to injury, the left-hander has had no trouble replicating that form back in the AL, going 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA and five complete games in 12 starts. His most impressive numbers are a 78-to-5 walk-to-strikeout ratio and a major league-leading 0.92 WHIP.
He has won three straight starts, pitching the full nine innings in each, while allowing a total of four earned runs with 18 strikeouts and one walk. A common opponent of Detroit when he pitched for Cleveland, Lee owns a 5-9 career record with a 4.76 ERA in 20 career starts against the Tigers.
Lee will be facing an offense that is running in high gear, having pushed 13 runs across while winning the first two games of the series. Brandon Inge had four hits and three RBIs and Brennan Boesch has five hits against Seattle.
Detroit will counter with right-hander Jeremy Bonderman. The 27-year-old had one of his strongest starts of the season against the Mariners back on May 26, allowing an unearned run on five hits while walking two and striking out six in seven innings.