Game 126, Yankees at Mariners

marc w · August 24, 2016 at 12:49 pm · Filed Under Mariners 

Hisashi Iwakuma vs. Masahiro Tanaka, 12:40pm

Whoa, early one today, and a great match-up of former teammates. If Kuma pitches 5 innings today, he’ll earn his 2017 guarantee.

Tanaka’s having a good year, with a reduction in HRs allowed driving improvements in FIP and ERA alike. I’m not sure how he’s viewed in New York – if he was seen as a potential ace, or just a better-than-average #2-#3 starter, but he’s been remarkably consistent. His walk rate is still miniscule, and while his K rate’s dropped a bit, it’s still right in line with his 2015 marks. While his injury scares may have sapped a bit of his raw stuff, he’s been fairly durable *after* it looked like TJ surgery was imminent. Like Kuma, Tanaka’s command and splitter help him avoid problems with left-handed bats. In Tanaka’s MLB career, lefties have hit a touch worse than righties against him – just as they have against Iwakuma.

The Rangers are playing the hapless Reds today, but Baltimore’s got a tough challenge against Washington’s Tanner Roark.

1: Aoki, LF
2: Smith, RF
3: Cano, 2B
4: Cruz, DH
5: Lind, 1B
6: Martin, CF
7: O’Malley, 3B
8: Iannetta, C
9: Marte, SS
SP: Iwakuma

Kyle Seager’s out with a bruised foot suffered in last night’s loss. Doesn’t sound serious, but he may miss a couple of games.

Comments

8 Responses to “Game 126, Yankees at Mariners”

  1. Notfromboise on August 24th, 2016 1:19 pm

    Not the prettiest lineup of the year, but hopefully it will all work out. Stuck in the car for a few hours today, so super stoked to have day baseball on the radio dial.

  2. Notfromboise on August 24th, 2016 1:21 pm

    righty-lefty be damned, I’d pinch hit Zunino right here.

  3. mrakbaseball on August 24th, 2016 3:42 pm

    Well, losing 2 of 3 after Sunday’s debacle is not what anyone had in mind. It doesn’t look good with Seager and now Cruz banged up.

  4. Westside guy on August 24th, 2016 3:47 pm

    Sims, calling Aoki’s arm “average” is… a tad generous.

  5. Grayfox3d on August 24th, 2016 3:48 pm

    Glad I didn’t watch this game…. I already knew we would lose to Tanaka especially after watching CC dash our hopes and dreams. Only silver lining is this series is over…

  6. Westside guy on August 24th, 2016 3:57 pm

    People have said Adam Lind is “heating up”… well, he has “heated up” all the way to a wRC+ of 92 for August.

    If he were a shortstop, that might be reasonable. But for a platooned first baseman, that’s pretty terrible.

  7. mrakbaseball on August 24th, 2016 4:11 pm

    Lind isn’t in a platoon anymore.

  8. Westside guy on August 24th, 2016 6:03 pm

    I was going to look up what day Romero went back down, but FanGraphs is currently down. Wasn’t Lind platooned for most of this month?

    Not that a 92 wRC+ is what you want to see from a first baseman, platooned or not…

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