New York @ Seattle preview
T-Mobile Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 10, 2010 ) NY Yankees 1, Seattle 4
Felix Hernandez whopped and hollered, spun around on the mound, slapped his glove and celebrated with teammates.
You would have thought Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners had just clinched a playoff berth.
Nah, nothing close to that in this Mariners season of discontent.
But Hernandez’s third complete-game victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday was enough to cause the right-hander to carry on as if he was headed to the playoffs. Never mind that he allowed 10 hits and struggled mightily to finish the game. This was cause for celebration.
Jose Lopez gave Hernandez a 4-1 lead with a grand slam off reliever Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning Saturday night, and Hernandez fought his way through 126 pitches and gutted out the final three outs, finishing with nine strikeouts.
Hernandez is the first pitcher since Milwaukee’s Jaime Navarro in 1990-91 to throw three complete games against the Yankees, according to the Mariners.
The victory helped Seattle end a five-game losing streak and snap the Yankees’ season-high seven-game winning streak.
Saturday’s game also saw the introduction of Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak, acquired from Texas in a trade for ace left-hander Cliff Lee.
Smoak will likely want to forget his debut. He rarely made contact in his first three at-bats - all strikeouts on just 11 pitches - and grounded out in his fourth at-bat.
The Yankees (55-32) will enter the All-Star break with baseball’s best record no matter what happens in Sunday’s series finale at Safeco Field. Still, heading into the break with two straight losses is not in the Yankees’ plans.
The pitching matchup for this afternoon’s game hardly seems fair.
New York will send left-hander CC Sabathia (11-3, 3.19 ERA), the 2007 AL Cy Young winner, a four-time All-Star and World Series champion, against lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-8, 5.74), who is hanging onto his spot in the rotation only because Erik Bedard remains sidelined with an inflamed left shoulder.
Sabathia has won seven consecutive starts during which he owns an ERA of 1.88. The last Yankee to win eight consecutive starts was Roger Clemens in 2001.
Sabathia beat the Mariners on July 1, allowing one earned run in eight innings of a 4-2 victory. He is 7-4 with a 2.82 ERA in 15 starts against the Mariners and is 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA at Safeco Field.
Rowland-Smith actually pitched well in the July 1 game against Sabathia, allowing two runs in six innings and settling for a no-decision. Alex Rodriguez won it with a two-run homer off David Aardsma in the eighth.
Rowland-Smith has yet to receive a decision in three starts against the Yankees, sporting a 3.26 ERA against them.
The Yankees, who will send eight players to Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Anaheim, also learned Saturday that All-Star Nick Swisher will replace Robinson Cano in Monday’s Home Run Derby.