Mariners vs Yankees MLB Betting + Handicapping Picks
The New York Yankees fresh off a tough three-game at home division series with Tampa Bay, will open another three-game weekend set on Friday when they host the Seattle Mariners who are trying desperately to turn their season around since finishing a miserable 10-and-12 in April.
SEA: Felix Hernandez (3-1, 1-89 ) v NYY: Hiroki Kuroda (2-4, 3.75)
Date/Time: Friday, May 11 – 7:05 PM EST
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Broadcast: Root / YES
LINE: 132, -140
TOTAL: 7.5
Now 33 games into the season, it’s beginning to show that Seattle (15-18) is far from being a complete team.
However, they do have some strengths, which kind of includes their rotation, as some starters tend to be either very good — or not. As a whole, the pitching staff is 10-13 with a collective 3.85 ERA.
They will hope that the trend of those that are good will continue, when 26-year old Felix Hernandez takes the mound on Friday in New York.
The righty baffled the Twins bats on Saturday, giving up just one hit while whiffing nine over eight innings to give the Mariners a 7-0 win. The stellar effort also boosted Hernandez’s record to 3-1 to go along with a very good 1.89 ERA.
He is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in his three starts against New York (16-14) in 2011, and will hope that his current hot streak can continue as he faces them for the first time this year.
One thing that has helped the Seattle bullpen this season, is the fact that the team is scoring runs, ranking 15th overall with 125. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Leading that charge is third baseman Kyle Seager who leads the Mariners with 20 RBIs and extended his recent hot hitting streak on Wednesday against the Tigers as he went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Seager has gone 17 for 49 (.347) with three home runs and 14 RBI in his last 14 games. He also has a .633 slugging percentage over that span.
Looking to shut down Seager and the rest of the Mariners lineup will be 37-year old right-hander Hiroki Kuroda who has labored a bit to start the 2012 season with consistency.
Kuroda surrendered three runs — two earned — and six hits in 4 1/3 innings during New York’s 5-1 loss at Kansas City on Saturday night. But the worst part was that he walked three batters and struck out just two — the second time this season he has recorded more walks than strikeouts. He has now lost three of his past four starts.
However, a matchup against Seattle could help Kuroda to get back on track as he is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA at home this season . He has only faced Seattle one time in his career and is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA.
In the meantime the Yankees are hitting well, ranked third in the league in average and number two overall in home runs with 49.
Matt’s Free Prediction: New York- The Yankees are 9-7 at home while the Mariners two games under .500 away from Safeco Field. Seattle’s chance in this one go as far as Hernandez can carry them. Which won’t be enough.
