Zell's Pinstriped Blog, A New York Yankees Fan Blog

After a mini west coast swing where the Yankees went 4-2, they return home before heading back out West for yet another swing with the west coasters. Despite this season being a dissappointment for the Mariners (and all those “experts” who picked them as well), the M’s bring Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez into this series. Could this be a tryout for Cliff Lee?

Phil Hughes (10-1, 3.17) vs Cliff Lee (6-3, 2.39)

The last time Hughes has pitched more than 1 inning against the Mariners was 2007 and it wasn’t a bad outing either. He went for 6 innings and allowed 2 runs and struck out 6. Outside of this one start, Hughes hasn’t pitched more than an inning at a time (3 times in 2009) against the Ms. Opposing him is a familar foe and current desire of the Yankees, Cliff Lee. Fortunately for the Yankees, Lee has gone 4-4 with a 5.02 against NYY over 9 starts. Unfortunately for the Yankees is the fact that over his last 3 starts Lee has a sub 3 ERA and is 2-1.

Javier Vazquez (6-6, 5.16) vs Felix Hernandez (5-5, 3.28)

Coming into this game, both pitchers have 6 (Javy) and 5 (Felix) starts against the other team, so that puts them just a slot right above ‘small sample size’. In Felix’s 5 career starts he is 2-3 with a 4.59 ERA, however, he pitched a complete game against the M’s last year. In Javy’s 6 career starts, he is 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA. The ERA is a little high, but is consistent with his starts going back to 2003, so it isn’t because of one bad game. Last time he pitched against the M’s was in 2008.

CC Sabathia (9-3, 3.49) vs Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-7, 6.18)

Finishing up the series is CC and RR-S. To say this is a stellar pitching matchup would be stretching it slightly. CC in his career has been great against the M’s with his 2.97 ERA over 14 games. Opposing him, Rowland-Smith has had good days and bad days against the Yankees. In 6 games (2 starts), Smith has no record against the Yanks, but possesses a 5.29 ERA.

What to look out for: Seattle’s pitching will keep them close in this series, however, their .239 batting average will likely not keep them in the game for long, especially if the Yankees hit around Lee or King Felix. On top of their poor batting average, their on base percentage is a measly .308, so expecting them to draw walks isn’t likely to happen either.