Seattle @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 11, 2010 ) NY Yankees 8, Seattle 2
The New York Yankees are staring at a great opportunity to create some separation in the hotly contested American League East Division race.
Riding a three-game winning streak and with their offense running white-hot, the Yankees welcome the Seattle Mariners to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday night.
The Yankees, clinging to a one-game lead atop the AL East, would like to pad the lead at the expense of the league's second-worst road team.
With Tampa Bay in the midst of a seven-game West Coast road trip, New York has a chance to create some separation in the division.
First, though, comes a daunting challenge against Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, who has already beaten the Yankees twice this season.
Hernandez (8-10) turned in an overpowering performance in his last visit to Yankee Stadium, shutting down New York with a compete-game two-hit shutout on June 30. He struck out 11 in the contest.
The 24-year-old right-hander matched up with the Yankees 10 days later and again went the distance in Seattle's 4-1. Hernandez wasn't as overpowering as in the previous matchup, scattering 10 hits and striking out nine.
Still, he improved to 4-3 lifetime with a 3.16 ERA and three complete games in seven career starts against New York.
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is 14-for-43 (.326) with three homers against Hernandez, who also has surrendered four blasts to right fielder Nick Swisher.
Fernandez has won only once since beating New York on July 10, going 1-5 in his last seven outings despite allowing just 11 earned runs. Seattle's punchless offense has been a major culprit during that stretch, producing a total of eight runs.
The Mariners have shown a little more life at the plate, going 4-2 thus far on their 12-game road trip and taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles.
But they’ll have to ratchet up the offense to keep pace with the Yankees, who amassed 26 runs in taking the final three games of their four-game set with the Detroit Tigers.
Second baseman Robinson Cano sparked a nine-run sixth inning that broke open a 2-2 deadlock and powered New York to an 11-5 victory over the Tigers in Thursday’s series finale.
Cano had three hits Thursday, including an RBI double and two-run homer in the decisive sixth. It was his third home run in as many games.
Right-hander A.J. Burnett, who is winless in his last three starts, takes the mound for New York. Burnett has pitched decently the past two times out, but has a loss and no-decision to show for it despite allowing four runs and 10 hits in 15 innings.
He will have to be careful with the top of Seattle’s lineup. Ichiro Suzuki is 6-for-15 lifetime against Burnett while Chone Figgins is 5-for-12.