New York @ Seattle preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 17, 2016 ) Seattle 3, NY Yankees 4

New York Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda had pitched well in four of his last five outings before Mother Nature had a hand in putting an end to his last trip to the mound. The 27-year-old Dominican will look regain his form on Monday when he visits the team with which he began his major-league career in the opener of a three-game series versus the Seattle Mariners.

The Yankees' bid to move five games over .500 fell short for the fourth straight time after dropping a 2-0 decision to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in the finale of a three-game road series. Brett Gardner is mired in a 1-for-15 stretch over his last four games, but went 7-for-12 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored against Seattle on April 15-17. The Mariners took two of three at Yankee Stadium in that series and saw their chance for a three-game sweep versus Milwaukee go by the boards after allowing four runs in the ninth inning of a 7-6 setback on Sunday. Former Yankee Robinson Cano drove in a pair of runs for the second time in the series against the Brewers and is 3-for-9 with two homers in his career versus Pineda.

TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), ROOT (Seattle)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Michael Pineda (6-10, 4.89 ERA) vs. Mariners RH Cody Martin (1-2, 3.14)

Pineda tossed back-to-back strong outings in his last two starts, but he received no-decisions after allowing two runs in six innings at Boston on Aug. 11 before scattering four hits over five scoreless frames versus Toronto on Tuesday. The right-hander has split a pair of decisions against Seattle, losing his last encounter in 2015 after permitting four runs in six innings. Pineda has struggled away from Yankee Stadium, posting a 2-6 mark with a 5.11 ERA.

Martin was able to escape considerable damage in his first start of the season on Wednesday, yielding two runs on seven hits before exiting after 4 1/3 innings of a no-decision versus the Angels. The 26-year-old Gonzaga product has yet to face the Yankees despite pitching for three separate teams in his 31 major-league appearances. Martin has kept the ball in the park in all six of his trips to the mound in 2016, an impressive feat considering he surrendered a total of eight homers over 30 2/3 combined innings with Oakland and Atlanta last year.

WALK-OFFS

1. Seattle resides one game behind Baltimore in the race for the second wild-card spot in the American League while New York sits four in back of the Orioles.

2. Yankees 2B Starlin Castro has five multi-hit performances in his last nine contests and went 5-for-13 in the previous series with the Mariners.

3. Seattle DH Nelson Cruz is 12-for-35 with three homers, five RBIs and eight runs scored in his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Mariners 3