Seattle @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2011 ) Seattle 3, NY Yankees 10
THE STORY: Having stumbled to 16 consecutive losses, the prospect of avoiding a 17th straight defeat appears to be a daunting task for the Seattle Mariners. After all, they are staring at a matchup with New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia in the second of a three-game series Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Since joining the Yankees prior to the 2009 season, Sabathia is 6-1 against the Mariners and has won his last six starts against them. He'll be opposed by hard-luck Seattle righty Doug Fister.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ROOT, WWOR
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Doug Fister (3-11, 3.30 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (14-5, 2.62 ERA).
Fister carries a six-game losing streak into Tuesday's start. He is winless in his last nine starts, receiving two runs of support or fewer seven times during that span. Fister has not allowed a home run in his last six starts and has surrendered only six in 139 innings this season. He is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts versus New York.
Sabathia saw his seven-game winning streak snapped last time out, despite allowing two runs and five hits in eight innings versus Tampa Bay. In his last six starts, the burly lefty has yielded only four earned runs while striking out 58 in 47 2/3 innings. Sabathia has enjoyed immense success against the Mariners with a 10-4 record and 2.49 ERA in 18 career starts.
ABOUT THE MARINERS (43-59): The beating goes on for Seattle, which owns the longest losing streak in the majors since the Kansas City Royals dropped 19 consecutive games in 2005. The Mariners played a sloppy opener against New York, committing a pair of errors in a five-run fourth inning and getting a lousy pitching performance from Jason Vargas. One positive was the performance of Justin Smoak, who singled, doubled and drove in a run. Smoak was 6-for-52 with one RBI in his previous 14 games. Brendan Ryan had an RBI double to extend his hitting streak to nine games.
ABOUT THE YANKEES (60-40): New York moved a season-high 20 games above .500 with Monday’s 10-3 rout. The Yankees have rolled up 37 runs in their last four games against AL West bottom feeders Oakland and Seattle. Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter each homered and drove in three runs. Teixeira hit his second homer in four games after failing to go deep in his first 17 games this month. Jeter ended an 11-game drought without a homer. Curtis Granderson had his fourth two-RBI game in his last six with a pair of sacrifice flies. He eclipsed his previous career high of 74 RBIs set in 2007 with the Detroit Tigers.
FINAL PITCH: The beleaguered Mariners got a bit of good news Monday when it was announced that lefthander Erik Bedard will start Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Bedard has missed four consecutive starts with a sprained left knee suffered against the Atlanta Braves on June 27.