SEATTLE — The Yankees are 3-0 and rolling. Can Seattle’s loaded lineup slow them down?
Munetaka Murakami is hitting home runs in bunches for the Chicago White Sox. Brendan Donovan is raking for the Seattle Mariners after a blockbuster trade from St. Louis. The early days of the 2026 MLB season have been dominated by fresh faces making instant impacts.
But the New York Yankees are not interested in anyone else’s story right now.
Riding a perfect 3-0 start and a record three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the Yankees open a pivotal three-game series against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Monday night. First pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. ET on MLB.TV, with left-hander Ryan Weathers making his Yankees debut against Seattle right-hander Luis Castillo. Tuesday’s Game 2 will also be available on TBS.
The question for Bronx faithful is straightforward: Can this Yankees team make it six straight to start the year, or will Donovan, Cal Raleigh, and a loaded Mariners rotation put the brakes on New York’s early-season roll?
Yankees pitching sets historic tone in San Francisco
The numbers from the Giants series were staggering. Yankees pitchers allowed just one run across 27 innings. Max Fried tossed a seven-inning shutout on Opening Night. Cam Schlittler dominated in his season debut. The bullpen did not surrender a single run across 9 2/3 innings of work, with David Bednar earning saves in back-to-back games and Camilo Doval electric against his former club.
Even at roughly 75 percent strength, the Yankees lineup remains fearsome. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, and Austin Wells are all available. Judge produced a 10.1 WAR with 62 home runs in 2025 and has already homered in back-to-back games this season. Bellinger contributed 4.9 WAR with 32 home runs last year.
Judge delivers a message after sweep
After Saturday’s series-clinching 3-1 victory, Judge was direct about the team’s mindset.
“One thing from the past couple of years we’ve struggled at was finishing series and sweeping series,” Judge said. “Pregame, we talked about it: ‘Hey, we’ve got to close out a series.’ That’s what’s going to make the difference between winning the division or ending up tied. Every game matters.”
Judge’s 370th career home run tied Gil Hodges for 83rd on the all-time list. Manager Aaron Boone, who earned his 700th career win in the finale, struck a more cautious tone.
“Look, wins are always hard to come by,” Boone said. “You take them when you can get them. I love that we played well. But it’s March.”
Mariners bring offensive firepower and a deep rotation
Seattle is no easy mark. The Mariners (2-2) are the defending AL West champions after winning their first division title in more than two decades last season, and their ALCS run ended only in Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays. They enter this series coming off an 8-0 rout of Cleveland on Sunday in which Emerson Hancock threw six hitless innings with nine strikeouts.
Donovan, acquired from the Cardinals on Feb. 2, recorded multi-hit games in three of his first four contests and launched two home runs in the Cleveland series, including a three-run shot Sunday. Raleigh, the 2025 AL MVP runner-up, hit 60 home runs last season and posted a 9.1 WAR. Julio Rodríguez added 5.7 WAR with 44 home runs in 2025. The lineup also features Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor, who re-signed after the ALCS run.
Seattle’s rotation has high upside even without Bryce Miller, who is on the injured list with an oblique issue and is not expected back until late April. The Mariners are also missing shortstop J.P. Crawford (shoulder, targeting an early April return) and third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni (out until approximately April 10).
Game-by-game pitching matchups tilt toward a tight series
Game 1 (Monday): Castillo (3.64 ERA in 2024) vs. Weathers (3.99 ERA in 2025). Oddsmakers give Seattle roughly a 55 percent edge at home with the veteran Castillo against a Yankees pitcher making his team debut. The moneyline has the Mariners around -115 and the Yankees at -105.
Game 2 (Tuesday): Gilbert (3.23 ERA in 2024, the AL innings leader) vs. Fried (2.86 ERA in 2025). A premium matchup between two of the league’s most efficient starters. Fried holds a slight edge on paper, but Seattle’s home-field advantage makes this close to a coin flip.
Game 3 (Wednesday): Kirby (4.44 ERA in 2025) vs. Schlittler (2.68 ERA in 2025). The Yankees hold the clearest pitching advantage here. Projections give New York roughly a 60 percent chance, with the rookie left-hander riding his Opening Week dominance.
Bullpens and the Murakami factor
Late-inning matchups could decide this series. Seattle’s bullpen posted a 3.72 ERA in 2025, ranking ninth in baseball, with closer Andres Munoz, setup man Matt Brash, and long reliever Bryan Woo forming a deep unit. The Yankees’ relief corps carried a 4.37 ERA last season (23rd in MLB) before the organization overhauled it with Bednar, Doval, and Brent Headrick. Through three games, the new group has been spotless.
Meanwhile, the broader MLB spotlight has turned to Murakami, whose three home runs in his first three White Sox games have drawn comparisons to the best Japanese imports in recent history. While Murakami has no direct connection to this series, his explosive debut has energized the baseball conversation around young talent, a wave the Mariners have ridden with Donovan’s early surge and Hancock’s near no-hitter.
Head-to-head history and the path forward
The Yankees dominated the 2025 season series, winning five of six meetings and outscoring Seattle 40-23. They also took the 2024 series, winning four of seven. ESPN’s latest power rankings have Seattle at No. 2 and New York at No. 3. FanGraphs projects the Mariners for 90 wins and the Yankees for 89, underscoring just how evenly matched these clubs are.
T-Mobile Park’s pitcher-friendly dimensions and cool weather (temperatures expected around 50 degrees) could suppress offense. Seattle has been strong at home under second-year manager Dan Wilson, and the marine layer tends to keep balls in the yard.
The two teams will meet again at Yankee Stadium from Aug. 11-13. But this early-season set will offer the first real measuring stick for whether the Yankees’ pitching depth and Judge’s bat can carry them past a Mariners team built to compete for the pennant.
Who do you think is the favorite in the Yankees vs. Mariners series?
