Heading into a Memorial Day weekend match up at the "Safe" with the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners sit one and a half games back out of first place. They have won 8 out of their last 10 games. In fact, in the last 30 days Seattle pitchers have owned a 2.47 ERA, tops in baseball. I have a hunch that Seattle will punch the Bronx Bombers in the mouth at least twice in this three-game home stand.
It all kicks off with the top rookie of the year candidate, pitcher Michael Pineda. This Dominican machine is en fuego. He already has 6 wins and 61 strikeouts. No, I'm not confusing him with 2010 Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez. Pineda has been that ridiculous.
As dangerous as the Yankee offense is, Pineda holds the edge because New York hasn't batted against him yet and of course he is straight up nasty. He currently has the highest average fastball amongst starters in the big leagues at 96 mph.
The beauty of Pineda being so great as the Mariners fifth starter is that he pitches back-to-back with Felix. Thus, Saturday night could be a fantastic night to be in SoDo because Felix brings his "A-game" when faces New York.
In his last 5 starts against the Yanks, Felix is 4-1 with 8 runs allowed. That's 40 innings and 37 K's against a perennial powerhouse offense with a 1.77 ERA. Good luck with that Bombers.
If this weekend doesn't get Seattle fans excited and if SafeCo doesn't get close to selling out then just stay away for good because the real fans don't need your half-hearted attention. The Mariners are an easy target to make fun of but the truth is that they have a shot at the division and I'm loving their contagious tenacity.
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