Seattle visits New York after Kikuchi's strong performance
Seattle Mariners (20-19, second in the AL West) vs. New York Yankees (21-15, second in the AL East)
New York; Thursday, 6 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: Mike Leake (2-3, 4.91 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 33 strikeouts) Yankees: J.A. Happ (2-3, 4.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 27 strikeouts)
LINE: Yankees favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Yankees are 12-9 on their home turf. New York has hit 53 home runs this season, tenth in the American League. Luke Voit leads the team with 10, averaging one every 12.6 at-bats.
The Mariners are 13-8 on the road. Seattle has slugged .472, good for second in in the MLB. Daniel Vogelbach leads the club with a .651 slugging percentage, including 15 extra-base hits and nine home runs. The Mariners won the last meeting 10-1. Yusei Kikuchi notched his second victory and Ryon Healy went 4-for-5 with three doubles, a home run and two RBIs for Seattle. Jonathan Loaisiga registered his first loss for New York.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gary Sanchez leads the Yankees with 13 extra base hits and is batting .257. Voit is 12-for-37 with a double, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
Jay Bruce leads the Mariners with 10 home runs and is batting .167. Edwin Encarnacion is 8-for-31 with four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Seattle.
LAST 10 GAMES: Yankees: 5-5, .265 batting average, 5.07 ERA, outscored by three runs
Mariners: 3-7, .223 batting average, 5.02 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
Yankees Injuries: Luis Severino: 60-day IL (shoulder), James Paxton: 10-day IL (knee), Jordan Montgomery: 60-day IL (elbow), Ben Heller: 60-day IL (elbow), Dellin Betances: 10-day IL (shoulder), Aaron Judge: 10-day IL (oblique), Aaron Hicks: 10-day IL (back), Jacoby Ellsbury: 60-day IL (hip), Gio Urshela: day-to-day (leg), Troy Tulowitzki: 10-day IL (calf), Didi Gregorius: 60-day IL (elbow), Greg Bird: 10-day IL (foot), Giancarlo Stanton: 10-day IL (bicep).
Mariners Injuries: Sam Tuivailala: 10-day IL (achilles), Hunter Strickland: 60-day IL (lat), Wade LeBlanc: 10-day IL (oblique), Gerson Bautista: 10-day IL (pectoral), Kyle Seager: 60-day IL (hand).
