The New York Yankees are attempting to tread water in the division until 2022 MVP Aaron Judge can return to the lineup and a win at home against the Seattle Mariners would go a long in helping do so.
Seattle Mariners vs. New York Yankees (-110, 7.5)
Domingo German gets the start for the Yankees, who’s been far more effective at home than on the road, posting a 2.92 ERA with a 4.9 strikeout to walk rate at Yankee Stadium compared to a 1.7 strikeouts to walk rate and a 5.91 ERA on the road.
Behind German is a Yankees lineup that has struggled without Aaron Judge, scoring four runs or fewer in 10 of their first 13 games without him since suffering an injury in Los Angeles on June 3.
Fortunately for the Yankees, the Mariners have struggled at the plate season long, entering Wednesday having scored four runs or fewer in 13 of their last 18 games and had a .227 team batting average entering Wednesday, the second-worst mark in the league.
The Mariners will turn to Bryan Woo for his fourth start of the season and duplicate his last two starts, where he two earned runs each in wins over the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels.
The 7.30 ERA for Woo is a byproduct of his MLB debut coming on the road against the Texas Rangers and allowing six runs in two innings, but at this early stage of his career does need to learn to reduce hard contact, giving up three home runs in 12 1/3 innings.
Behind Woo is a solid Mariners bullpen that ranks fifth in the league in bullpen ERA, but one of the few bullpens that has a better ERA is the Yankees, who’s 2.94 bullpen ERA entering Wednesday night was the best mark in the league.
Though the Yankees offense has had a tough time generating runs without Judge, they get the face a rookie making just his fourth career start and with the struggles the Mariners lineup has had all season, the Yankees will do enough to pick up a Thursday home win.
The Play: Yankees -110