This morning the New York Yankees are on the west coast to start a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees have a long winning history against the Mariners, going 255-188. The last time the Yankees faced the Mariners in the AL Championship Series was twenty years ago, and the Yankees took the series 4-1. Last year with no west coast games, they didn’t play against each other, but the Yankees swept the Mariners in 2019 in their last series.
This year we all know that the Yankees have been playing very inconsistent baseball. They are presently 10.5 games behind the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox at the halfway point. They have suffered from poor pitching in many games, and deficient hitting has dogged them all season. The Seattle Mariners sit in the middle of the AL West, 7 games behind the Houston Astros. Both teams are coming off a day off. The Yankees last beat the New York Mets, and the Mariners are coming off a win against the Texas Rangers.
Today, July 6, 10:10 pm EDT:
Jameson Taillon will start game one against the Mariners; he is 3-4 with an ERA of 5.43 and 73 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he is the New York Yankees’ most undependable pitcher. He has shown some bright spots this season, but for the most part, he has been disappointing, coming off two Tommy John surgeries and not finding his form yet. Nevertheless, he is coming off his first two wins in a row, one off the Royals and his most recent against the Angels. He did give up 3 home runs, and 5 earned runs in that win, but the Yankee lineup picked him up.
Justus Sheffield is a lefty that is 5-7 with an ERA of 5.88 and 57 strikeouts. Sheffield is coming off three straight losses, and a no-decision against the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he gave up 4 earned runs in just four innings of work. Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela are both .500 off him in 2 at-bats. DJ LeMahieu is .333 in 3 at-bats. The game will be televised on the YES Network, ROOT NW, and ESPN.
Wednesday, July 7, 10:10 pm EDT:
Domingo German will start Wednesday night’s game for the Yankees. He is 4-5 with a 4.50 ERA and 68 strikeouts. German had an excellent spring training, then bombed in his first start of the season, was sent down, and came back gangbusters. Since then, you can’t be sure what you will get, he could be lights out, or he could lack control. He is coming off three losses in his last four starts, never going more than 4.1 innings. With Taillon probably not going deep, the Yankees will look for German to give them some length.
Yusei Kikuchi is the Seattle Mariners ace and their only pitcher to be selected to be in the All-Star Game. He is 6-3 with an ERA of 3.18 ad 93 strikeouts. He has been pitching great, winning his last three starts. He hasn’t given up more than one run in a game since June 3rd. The Yankees in 2019 hit well off of Kikuchi. Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner had home runs off him, and DJ LeMahieu has a .333 average for 4 at-bats. The game will be televised on the YES Network, ROOT NW, and MLBN out of market.
Thursday, July 8, 4:10 pm EDT:
Jordan Montgomery will start Thursday afternoon’s game for the Yankees. He is 3-3 with an ERA of 4.17 and 86 strikeouts. The Yankees have won more of Montgomery’s starts than any other Yankee starter. He is coming off two losses in a row, one against the Red Sox and most recently against the New York Mets. No Mariner has ever faced Montgomery.
Logan Gilbert will start the last game of the series against the Yankees. He is a righty that is 2-2 with a 4.10 ERA with 45 strikeouts. This is Gilberts’ 10th start of the season; he has gotten excellent run supports, with the team winning all of his last seven starts. However, no Yankees have seen him pitch. The game will be televised on the YES Network, ROOT NW, and MLBN out of market.
Thursday night after the game, the New York Yankees will travel to Houston to meet up with the Houston Astros for a three-game series that Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will lead off. After the Astros series, the Yankees will have three games off for the All-Star break.
