Seattle @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 21, 2010 ) Seattle 5, NY Yankees 9
Alex Rodriguez might not be in the lineup, but the New York Yankees’ offense is still a force for opposing pitchers.
The Yankees will be looking to pile on the runs again when they close out a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Rodriguez has made just one plate appearance in the last five games and figures to miss a few more days due to a calf strain. But with its RBI leader watching from the bench, New York still managed to close out a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers this week with three wins, scoring 26 runs in the process.
A lull against the Seattle’s Felix Hernandez in Friday’s series opener was to be expected, but the Yankees bounced right back with 9-5 victory Saturday.
Jorge Posada homered and Robinson Cano drove in two runs while Eduardo Nunez, who was replacing Rodriguez at third, snapped a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the seventh. The late rally helped erase another poor start by Javier Vazquez, who was knocked around for four runs and eight hits in three innings.
The offensive surge has managed to keep New York one-game clear of the Tampa Bay Rays in a tight American League East battle.
Saturday’s setback snapped a three-game winning streak for Seattle, which is spending the rest of the season taking stock of its on-field talent and coaching staff after dismissing manager Don Wakamatsu earlier this month.
CC Sabathia (16-4) gets the start for the Yankees in the series finale looking to continue his march toward a second AL Cy Young award.
While his peripheral numbers might not match up to Texas’ Cliff Lee, Sabathia has been quite adept at piling up that stat that award voters have always loved so much - wins. The hefty left-hander leads the junior circuit in wins and has been consistently good since the start of June with quality starts in each of his last 15 outings.
Sabathia has picked up the win in each of his last three starts and is coming off a seven-inning performance against Detroit on Tuesday in which he allowed two runs on five hits and struck out nine. He dominated the Mariners back on July 11, earning a win by allowing one run in seven frames.
Sabathia is 8-4 with a 2.72 ERA in 16 career starts against Seattle.
The Mariners will counter with a left-hander of their own in Luke French. The 24-year-old doesn’t have quite the pedigree of Sabathia but has been pretty sharp of late, earning a win at Baltimore on Tuesday with 7 2/3 scoreless innings.
French has made four starts since moving back into the rotation on Aug. 1, surrendering a total of nine runs in 27 2/3 frames.
His last relief appearance this season came against New York on July 9, when French allowed a run on three hits in three innings. He has faced the Yankees four times in his career - two starts - and has gone 0-1 with a 2.35 ERA.