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Mariners-Yankees Preview

Aug 21, 2010 - 10:55 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Seattle (49-73) at New York (75-47), 1:05 p.m. EDT

The New York Yankees are going to play the next two weeks without one of the most-feared hitters in their potent lineup.

The absence of Alex Rodriguez might not hurt the club much, however, in its pursuit of a second straight division title.

AL East-leading New York tries to move to 12-0 without Rodriguez, and CC Sabathia looks to win his 15th straight decision at Yankee Stadium on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners.

Rodriguez was already expected to miss this game and the series in Toronto beginning Monday because of a lingering calf injury, but the Yankees (76-47) decided that it was best to be cautious and placed the three-time AL MVP on the disabled list following Saturday's 9-5 win over the Mariners.

"We're going to play it safe," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's not any worse than he was before, we're just going to play it safe and know we'll have a player in 15 days."

Rookie Eduardo Nunez took Rodriguez's spot at third base Saturday and drove in the go-ahead run with his first career hit in the seventh inning.

"You play 162 games and there's going to be games where some people are out," captain Derek Jeter said. "You have to pick each other up."

Moving forward without the newest member of the 600-homer club might not sound appealing to New York, but it is 11-0 without Rodriguez in the lineup this year.

The Yankees, who have won four of five, have had similar success with Sabathia (16-5, 3.12 ERA) pitching in the Bronx.

New York is 17-2 at home since the 2009 All-Star break when Sabathia starts, with the left-hander going 14-0 with a 2.27 ERA. It is the longest home winning streak by a Yankee since Ron Guidry won 16 straight from 1985-86.

Sabathia became the AL's first 16-game winner Tuesday, allowing two runs and five hits while striking out nine in seven innings of a 6-2 victory over Detroit.

"CC knows how to shut the door," Girardi said. "When he needs to make an adjustment he's able to do it."

Sabathia, 12-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 15 outings since the start of June, has won both his starts against Seattle, posting a 1.20 ERA. He has recorded a 0.90 ERA in winning four straight starts over the Mariners (49-74), who are 7-4 under interim manager Daren Brown.

Although Sabathia has done a good job of shutting down Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki is batting .382 with three homers against the four-time All-Star.

Suzuki, who entered Saturday's game with three home runs before connecting for two, has hit safely in 16 of 17 games against New York, batting .403.

Scheduled starter Luke French (2-3, 4.02) has also fared well against the Yankees and is coming off one of the best performances of his career.

Making his fourth start since being recalled from the minors July 28, French had a no-hitter through five innings against Baltimore on Tuesday and allowed three hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 4-0 win.

"Anytime you get to play up here it's a big opportunity and a lot of fun," the left-hander said.

French was sharp in his two starts against the Yankees as a rookie last season, going 1-1 with a 0.82 ERA. He made a relief appearance against New York on July 9, allowing one run in three innings.