Yankees vs Mariners Pick: 1st Place Teams Finish Their 3-Game Series (May 14)

• Our Yankees vs Mariners pick looks at the 1st place teams in the AL East and West finishing their 3-game set in Seattle
• New York starts young righty Will Warren; Seattle sends one of MLB‘s top starters, Luis Castillo, to the mound
• Aaron Judge’s season gets more unbelievable by the day as he leads the majors in every important offensive category

Warren Hopes to Build on His Excellent Start Against the A’s

Will Warren is getting an extended opportunity to establish himself in the Yankees’ starting rotation this season. He has been inconsistent, posting an ERA of 4.75. However, in his last start against the Athletics in Sacramento, he threw 7.1 innings, gave up 4 hits, and 1 earned run. Overall, Warren has 41 strikeouts in 36 innings, has given up 33 hits, and 16 walks.

Warren has never faced the Mariners.

If it seems repetitive to say how otherworldly Aaron Judge has been, it’s only because it’s true, and he’s maintaining a performance that could be compared to the greatest seasons in baseball history. He is leading the majors in every significant offensive category and already has a 3.5 bWAR.

Other Yankees bats have helped, including Trent Grisham with an OPS above 1.000, and Ben Rice with an OPS above .900.

New York will be without third baseman Osvaldo Cabrera, out with a fractured ankle. But D.J. LeMahieu has returned.

Seattle Rises to the Top of the Mediocre AL West

The Mariners are barely ahead of the Athletics, the Astros, and the Rangers in the AL West. Each team is flawed. The Mariners got off to a slow start at the plate, but they have improved over the past month.

Cal Raleigh is near the league leaders in home runs. Jorge Polanco has been excellent with an OPS over 1.000. J.P. Crawford has a 1.3 bWAR with an on-base percentage above .380.

The veteran Castillo takes the mound for the Mariners.

Castillo has a 3.95 ERA in 8 starts. He has given up 42 hits in 43.1 innings. The righty has pitched at least 5 innings in every start this season but one. He has had two poor starts in which he surrendered 5 and 6 earned runs, respectively. Aside from that, he’s been reliable in giving up 3 or fewer runs.

For the Yankees against Castillo, Paul Goldschmidt faced Castillo regularly when he was with the Cardinals and Castillo was with the Reds. He is 10 for 42 with 3 homers. Judge is 3 for 7 with a homer. LeMahieu is 2 for 10 with 3 walks.

Yankees vs Mariners Pick: Warren’s Inconsistency Will Crop Up Again

As good as Warren was against the A’s, he has been too inconsistent from start to start to trust to maintain that level of performance. Castillo is one of the league’s better pitchers when he’s on his game. Seattle will overcome Judge and New York and win this afternoon tilt.