Final score: Yankees 5, Mariners 2

This was almost a lucky game.

After a quick, one-home run-two-three inning by Hisashi Iwakuma, the Mariners piled on Ivan Nova’s 1.41 WHIP with 2 singles, 3 walks, and an RBI forceout. Through 7 innings, they led 2-1 on just 2 hits.

Of course, you can’t expect to win a one-run, two-hit ballgame against the Yankees. Not in a non-Felix start. Not with the fences drawn a mile back. Not with Ichiro putting on a show for his last appearance in Safeco Field this season.

Iwakuma exited in the 6th with a line of 6 H, 3 BB, 1 ER, and 3 SO in 5 IP. It still feels strange to profile him as a starter, even after his 4 starts in the past 3 weeks. In this series, he logged the fewest earned runs by a starter, but extended his home run streak to 7 consecutive appearances.

By the 8th, the Yankees’ frustrated attempts to get on base were rewarded by Wedge’s decision to keep Josh Kinney in the game. Kinney made it through the 7th with a pristine two strikeouts and a pop-up by Ichiro that looked to be his last AB in Seattle. The game looked impossibly winnable.

When he reemerged from the ‘pen the next inning, however, Kinney struck Jeter squarely on the thigh with a 89 MPH sinker. From there, Wedge spun the carousel of relievers with even worse results. Lucas Luetge was quickly brought in, and quickly apologized to the Yankees with a pair of base hits. Shawn Kelley finished off the inning, sending Jayson Nix a 3-RBI double and Russell Martin an RBI single. Ichiro got a chance to redeem his final AB with two men on… and grounded out to third.

One lone hit, three relievers, and four swinging strikeouts later, the Yankees took the series 2-1 on a Carlos Peguero strikeout. As Ichiro departs for New York and the Mariners prepare to host Kansas City this weekend, it will be interesting to watch the situation play out in right field with Peguero, Wells, and Robinson vying for playing time. As for the emotional state of the team, you only had to witness the delight on Kawasaki’s face after putting the tag on Ichiro to know that they’re going to be just fine.

Next game: vs. Royals | July 26 | 7:10pm

My last series preview was for the Royals series and after everything was laid out, I picked the Mariners to go 3-1, which they did. Surprisingly, they went 2-1 against the Rays as well and are coming home with a 5-2 record on their road trip. The competition in their next series will be a little more intense, however, as the New York Yankees come to town for three.

Current record: 57-38

Last game: vs. Athletics. The Yankees, in their abbreviated tour of the A.L. West, stopped in Oakland for four games and were swept. Each game was a one-run affair. In their previous six games they had scored over five runs per game, but against Oakland they managed 2.5.

Familiar Faces: The Yankees’ current active roster boasts four ex-Mariners, including three that are among franchise leaders in multiple categories. Alex Rodriguez, of course, is probably the most prolific. He played for the Mariners from 1994-2000 and shattered a number of franchise records. He currently holds the Mariner record for best career slugging percentage and OPS, most runs and doubles in a single season, and most runs scored in a single game.

Freddy Garcia, Raul Ibanez and Rafael Soriano all played for the Mariners as well. As a rookie in 1999, Garcia went 17-8 and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Carlos Beltran. From 1999-2002 he went 60-29 for the Mariners, making the All-Star team in both 2001 and 2002. Ibanez was drafted by the Mariners in 1992, played from 1996-1999 and then again from 2004-2008. In his second stint, he put up an OPS+ of 120 and averaged 23 home runs each year. Soriano falls into the same category of ex-Mariners as Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo and Derek Lowe – players that were promising but were traded away for aging veterans before they blossomed. Soriano played briefly between 2002 and 2006 before he was traded to the Braves for starter Horacio Ramirez.

Jesus Montero is the lone Mariner to have played for the Yankees, and the first game of this series will mark six months since the trade in which the Mariners acquired him for Michael Pineda.

Last series against Seattle: May 11 – May 13, 2012. Felix Hernandez, who usually shines in the Big Apple, earned the loss in the first game and Noesi took the loss in game two – both by finals of 6-2. Kevin Millwood and Andy Pettitte (who was making his first start of the year) took the mound in game three in a flashback to 1999 and Millwood emerged the victor by a final score of 6-2.

Pitching matchups: Monday – Kevin Millwood vs. RHP Hiroki Kuroda. Both of these pitchers are in the twilight of their careers and both have had decent years, with Kuroda seeing his success reflected in his win-loss record while Millwood has gotten a bit unlucky. Kuroda is 9-7 with a 3.46 ERA, and the only Mariners who have faced Kuroda are Ichiro, Miguel Olivo and Brendan Ryan.

Tuesday — Felix Hernandez vs. RHP Freddy Garcia. If you could make it to Safeco for one game of this series, Tuesday would be the day to go. Garcia, one of the best pitchers in Mariners history takes the mound for the Yankees. When Felix was learning how to pitch, his idol was Garcia, so it seems fitting that Felix will face him in what could very well be Freddy’s last start in Safeco. In his last seven starts, Felix is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and 59 strikeouts to only seven walks. Garcia has made four starts since a short stint coming out of the bullpen, and has gone 2-1 with an ERA of 3.97.

Wednesday – Hisashi Iwakuma vs. RHP Ivan Nova. Nova is one of the bright young starters in the American League and his record reflects that – he’s 10-4 on the year. Current Mariners are 4-28 (.143) against Nova, while current Yankees will be seeing Iwakuma for the first time.

Expected results: I’m not sure how to feel about this series. The Mariners will be missing C.C. Sabathia, which is a good thing. I wish I could be confident that the Mariners will win two or three of these games, but it’ll be tough. Even so, going 1-2 in this series will mean that the Mariners will be 6-4 in their last ten games, which is a step in the right direction.

Well, he would make the creepiest-looking Mariner.

These days, Mariners fans will jump on anyone with any information about Prince Fielder. Two days ago, Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison tweeted that Prince was coming to Seattle, setting off a frenzy of bewildered and half-ecstatic fans who turned angry and humorless when he specified Prince the singer, not the first baseman.

Other than obsessing about the likelihood of Fielder reaching Safeco Field, photoshopping him in an M’s uniform, or reading too much into Jon Heyman’s tweets, there’s not much going on in Seattle. As rumors spring up, various writers have started endorsing the idea that Seattle trade pieces of their rotation to secure an offense.

First, we have Ken Rosenthal lobbying for a Felix-Yankees trade. In return, the Mariners should ask for Jesus Montero, Ivan Nova, Eduardo Nunez, and Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos. His reasoning? Even Prince Fielder isn’t big enough to fill the M’s need for a contention-worthy offense. And he’s right.

Provided Jack secures Prince as a nice Christmas present for the fans, there’s no guarantee he can do anything more than spice up the lineup. We’re not going to see the M’s in the playoffs with Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, and Yu Darvish hanging around the AL West.

What the Mariners lack in offense, however, they make up for in pitching. Felix, Pineda, and a slew of fresher prospects like Danny Hultzen and James Paxton are improving quickly. Instead of panicking now, assuming Felix will bolt in 2014, and offering him up for anything the Yankees might want to get rid of, this is the time to hang onto the talent we have.

On the other side of the fence is Shannon Drayer, who argues that while it’s not in the M’s best interest to trade Felix, Michael Pineda is ripe for the picking. Despite his ROY candidacy, he saw a rough 2011, with his numbers slipping after the All-Star break. In a few years, Pineda could very well be the next King Felix; meanwhile, there’s a long line of talented pitchers waiting for their shot at Safeco Field.

Personally, I don’t think it would hurt to keep both Felix and Pineda around a little longer. If Jack is already getting phone calls about Felix, and Pineda turned heads in his first major-league year, imagine the kind of offense the M’s could afford in a few years. I can tentatively trust Ichiro, Gutierrez, and Ackley to shoulder the offense while the ‘pen takes care of Pujols and the Wild West. So, the Mariners won’t have a slugfest at Safeco Field this year. It’s the fifth best pitcher’s park in MLB for a reason. If they play to their strengths and continue to develop the rotation, they could very well be the sleepers of the AL West, rather than the underdogs.

Of course, that second wild card won’t hurt, either.