MLB Baseball Predictions: Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees

Sunday, May 13, 2012

by Mike Stewart

Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
When: 1:05 PM ET, Sunday, May 13, 2012
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Seattle), YES (New York)

Opening Line: New York -200
Current Line: New York -173
MLB Betting Lines from: SBG Global Sportsbook

Andy Pettitte will make his first major league start in 19 months as the New York Yankees look to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Pettitte, who will turn 40 next month, has not been on the mound at Yankee Stadium since taking the loss in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series versus Texas on Oct. 18, 2010. He announced his retirement after that season and sat out 2011, but announced during spring training he wanted to return to the Yankees. New York is seeking its fourth straight victory.

The Mariners saw their road losing streak reach eight games with identical 6-2 losses in the first two games of the series. Seattle has been victimized by a key home run in each defeat and fell into a 4-0 hole after two innings Saturday. Mike Carp, who entered the game batting .115 (3-for-26), supplied both runs with a homer and RBI double. The double originally was ruled a two-run homer before it was overturned upon video review.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Kevin Millwood (0-4, 5.88 ERA) vs. Yankees LH Andy Pettitte (2010: 11-3, 3.28)

Millwood has lost four consecutive starts in a year that is beginning to resemble his disastrous 2010 campaign, when he lost his first eight decisions and was pummeled by the Yankees twice in a six-day span. The 37-year-old Millwood is 2-6 record with a 5.12 ERA in 13 career starts against New York. Robinson Cano (.429, 12-for-28) and Raul Ibanez (.383, 18-for-47) have hit him hard.

Pettitte was 11-2 at the All-Star break in 2010, but a groin injury knocked him out for two months and limited him to only four more starts. He was hit hard in his last rehab start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a week ago, allowing five runs on nine hits in five innings. Yankees manager Joe Girardi is expecting about 100 pitches from Pettitte, who has struggled against Ichiro Suzuki (.400, 16-for-40).

1. Yankees captain Derek Jeter tied Tony Gwynn for 17th on the career hits list with 3,141. He trails Robin Yount by one hit.

2. Pettitte is 11-11 lifetime against Seattle, one of two teams he doesn't have a winning record against. Cleveland (8-8) is the other.

3. Ibanez has four homers in his last four games and Cano is riding a 10-game hitting streak.