The New York Yankees (39-33, 21-17 home) host the Seattle Mariners (35-35, 14-18 away) in an American League showdown on Tuesday night in the Big Apple. New York took two of three from the Mariners earlier this season in Seattle.
The first pitch of the series opener is at 7:05 p.m. EST inside Yankees Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees are the betting favorite (-135 moneyline), and the over/under total is 7.5 runs.
What to Know – Seattle Mariners
Seattle took two of three from the Chicago White Sox over the weekend and went 4-2 over a six-game home stretch last week. The Mariners find themselves in fourth place in the AL West, trailing the Texas Rangers by 8.5 games.
Right-hander George Kirby (6-5, 3.24 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) gets the call on the mound for Seattle. Kirby looks to keep the momentum going after firing six shutout innings in his last start while finishing with a season-high ten strikeouts. In 13 starts, the 25-year-old has given up 29 earned runs on 80 hits and six walks while striking out 71 batters.
On offense, the Mariners rank 27th in the MLB with a .229 team batting average and score 4.4 runs per game. Seattle’s pitching staff is tenth in the league showcasing a 3.88 team earned run average.
Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez have hit 12 home runs and 39 RBIs a piece to lead the Seattle offense. Eugene Suarez has added 39 RBIs as well, while Ty France and Jarred Kelenic have each driven in 32 runs.
What to Know – New York Yankees
New York returns home after losing the final four games of a six-game road trip around the Northeast. The Yankees were swept by rival Boston over the weekend and split a two-game set with the New York Mets.
Five-time All-Star Gerrit Cole (7-1, 2.75 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) returns to the hill for the Yankees. Cole has been one of the best pitchers in the game this season, with just one loss in 15 starts. The 32-year-old has tallied 91.2 innings of work, allowing 28 earned runs, 73 hits, 29 walks, and 98 strikeouts.
New York’s offense is 24th amongst league teams, hitting .230 as a unit and averaging 4.5 runs per contest. The pitching staff for the Yankees sits fifth in the league with a 3.77 team ERA.
Aaron Judge paces the Yankees’ offense with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs. Anthony Rizzo is putting together another solid season at the dish for New York, sitting second on the team with 36 RBIs and adding 11 home runs.
The Pick is In
New York hopes that having their ace on the mound will get the Yankees back into the win column. The bats need to get going for the hosts, but if New York can scratch a few runs across earlier, we like the Yankees to take the series opener.
The Pick: New York Yankees ML
