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Yankees-Mariners Preview

Sep 20, 2009 - 7:00 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

New York (94-54) at Seattle (77-71), 4:10 p.m. EDT

Seattle's Ian Snell was blown away by the depth of the New York Yankees lineup when he faced them last month. That offense appears to be still quite formidable.

The Yankees look to continue their success on the road and take two of three from the Mariners, who send Snell to the mound in the finale of their series Sunday.

Snell, who was traded to Seattle from Pittsburgh in July, made his third start in the AL on Aug. 13 against the Yankees (95-54). He allowed eight runs and nine hits, including home runs to Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui, in six innings of an 11-1 loss.

"That lineup is just stupid. They shouldn't be allowed to have a lineup like that, but that is why their payroll is what it is," Snell said after the loss. "This is a lineup nobody in the National League has."

He'll get his second shot against them Sunday. The Yankees, who lead the majors in runs scored (855), home runs (226) and batting average (.285), are coming off an 10-1 win over Seattle (77-72) on Saturday in which they finished with 18 hits.

After Mariano Rivera gave up a game-winning, two-run homer to Ichiro Suzuki in a 3-2 New York loss Friday, the Yankees recovered behind CC Sabathia, who won his AL-leading 18th game, and the offense. Mark Teixeira homered twice and Matsui added a solo shot.

Teixeira finished with four hits and five RBIs after going 0 for 3 on Friday. He's hitting .418 with 16 RBIs in the last 11 games. The slugger has an AL-leading 118 RBIs and is second with 37 home runs, two behind injured Carlos Pena.

Despite the easy win, the Yankees got a scare in the fifth when Franklin Gutierrez hit a liner high off Sabathia's chest. Although manager Joe Girardi and a trainer came out, he waived them away.

"He's a horse. That's why he gets paid the big bucks," said Johnny Damon, who had three hits and has six in eight at-bats in the series. "We hope he stays indestructible."

The Yankees, who have won four of six, have a six-game lead over Boston in the AL East. They haven't lost a series on the road since dropping three of four at Chicago, winning five and splitting one.

New York will hand the ball to Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.39 ERA), who is gradually building his pitch count back up for the postseason.

Chamberlain pitched four innings against the Angels on Monday, allowing one run and four hits over 67 pitches - his most in four games - in a 5-3 win. The Yankees had been limiting the right-hander's pitch count to as few as 35 recently, but they are gradually increasing it.

Chamberlain is 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA against the Mariners this year. He also has made four relief appearances against them.

After winning four straight starts made by Snell (4-2, 4.86), the Mariners have lost his last two trips to the mound. He did not receive a decision against Chicago on Tuesday, allowing two runs in six innings of a 6-3 loss.

Alex Rodriguez, who missed Snell's last start against the Yankees, is 1 for 6 in this series.