Yankees @ Mariners Series Preview

Yankees - Mariners

Safeco Field
(3 games)

So far on this ten game, four city, road trip the Yankees are 3-1. Now they head off to the west coast for three games against Seattle, and then they will conclude the trip with three more against the Angels in Anaheim.

Normally a 3-1 start to a road trip would be a good thing, but trailing by 7.5 in the wild card, and 11 in the division, they really needed to win all four. The Yankees are now 75-65 and really don't have much time. With 22 games remaining on the schedule the Yankees are going to need to win about 20 of them.

After losing 11 out of 12 in mid-August the Mariners began to play a little bit better, winning 8 out of their next 10, but even with that hot streak it has been a very disappointing season for a team that were a lot of people's (including mine) pick to win the AL West. They currently have the third worst record in baseball at 54-85, and are 31 games out of first place. They have also dropped all six meetings against the Yankees this season.

MATCHUPS

Game 1 - Today @ 10:10 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Andy Pettitte, LHP (13-11, 4.52) vs. Brandon Morrow, RHP (1-2, 1.47)

Game 2 - Tomorrow @ 10:10 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Sidney Ponson, RHP (7-5, 5.13) vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith, LHP (4-2, 3.56)

Game 3 - Thursday @ 4:10 p.m.
TV: YES; Radio: WCBS 880
Mike Mussina, RHP (17-7, 3.39) vs. Carlos Silva, RHP (4-14, 6.53)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Yankees - Alex Rodriguez: After a terrible August A-Rod has come into the month of September on fire. Since the calendar changed the third baseman is hitting .563/.650/1.188 with 3 HR and 10 RBI. He's raised his season totals to .315/.404/.602 with 32 HR and 91 RBI.

In his career against his former team Rodriguez is hitting .295/.401/.614 with 29 HR, and 75 RBI. This year he's also done well, hitting .300/.462/.300, but he only has 1 RBI.

His numbers at Safeco field are slightly worse, but are still good, hitting .276/.386/.534 with 39 HR, and 119 RBI. This series will be the first time the Yankees visit Safeco this season. but last year he was horrible in Seattle hitting just .167.

A-Rod vs. Morrow: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, .500/.600/.1250
A-Rod vs. Rowland-Smith: NR
A-Rod vs. Silva: 6-for-16, HR, 2 RBI, .375/.375/.563

Mariners - Ichiro Suzuki: It's been another very solid year for Ichiro, who is hitting .310/.363/.383 with 5 HR, 39 RBI, and 40 SB in '08. He's coming off a month of August where he hit .350.

He has always done a good job against the Yankees as well. In his career he's hitting .323/.370/.430, with 6 HR, 25 RBI vs. Yanks. This season he's hitting .308/.308/.423 with a HR and 3 RBI against them.

Ichiro vs. Pettitte: 10-26, 5 RBI, .385/.385/.423
Ichiro vs. Ponson: 10-18, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, .556/.571/.722
Ichiro vs. Moose: 14-38, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, .368/.368/.472

INJURY REPORT

Yankees:
- Bobby Abreu is day-to-day with a jammed wrist.
- Chien-Ming Wang is out for the year with a mid-foot tearing of the Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon.
- Jonathan Albaladejo is out for the year with a stress fracture in his right elbow.
- Jorge Posada is out for the remainder of the season after having shoulder surgery.

Mariners:
- Willie Bloomquist is on the 60-day DL with a strained right hamstring.
- Erik Bedard is on the 15-day DL with left shoulder stiffness.
- Mike Morse is on the 60-day DL after having left shoulder surgery - out for season.