Seattle, WA (My Sportsbook) - A pair of division leaders face off this evening, when the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners and the East-leading New York Yankees tangle in the first of a three-game set at Safeco Field.

Billed as the first battle between Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, the Yankees won two of three meetings last week in the Bronx. Despite the series victory, Seattle owns an 18-13 advantage in this series since the start of the 2000 campaign. The Yanks did take four of six at Safeco Field last season.

Seattle enters this series on a three-game winning streak after sweeping the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field over the weekend. The Mariners posted a 5-1 win over Chicago in six innings of a rain-shortened contest on Sunday.

Edgar Martinez homered and knocked in three runs to pace the Mariners to the victory. Ichiro and Randy Winn also homered for the Mariners, who captured their first road-series sweep of the season. Seattle has won 16 of its last 21 games.

Gil Meche gave up his first run in 26 1/3 innings, but still picked up the victory. Meche (4-1) gave up just one run on four hits and struck out three. He has now won four of his last five starts.

Thanks to their recent success, the Mariners have managed to stay atop the West by one game over surging Oakland. All four teams in the West are within 6 1/2 games of each other in the standings.

Seattle will look to continue its hot streak with crafty veteran Jamie Moyer on the mound. Moyer took the loss last week to the Yankees, as they battered him for five hits and five runs over six innings. He walked and struck out four in the losing effort.

Moyer has been relatively successful against the Yankees in his career, tallying a 9-9 mark with a 4.20 ERA. The 40-year-old has allowed 180 hits and 83 earned runs over 178 innings of action versus New York.

For the second time in a week, the Yankees will send lefthander Andy Pettitte to oppose Moyer. Pettitte outpitched Moyer last week, allowing only four hits and one run (none earned) over seven innings. He fanned eight and walked two in the winning effort.

Pettitte has struggled a bit against the Mariners in his career, posting just an 8-7 record with a 5.09 ERA. The southpaw has given up 108 hits and 56 earned runs over 99 innings of action versus Seattle.

New York has lost two straight for just the second time this season. The Yankees dropped the final two of their series with the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, including a 2-0 loss on Sunday.

Roger Clemens was outdueled by Barry Zito in the battle between Cy Young Award winners. Clemens (4-2) absorbed the loss, allowing two runs -- one earned -- on four hits over seven innings. The hard-throwing righthander struck out six batters and walked just two.

Erick Almonte collected the lone extra-base hit for New York with a double. Prior to the game, Yankees All-Star shortstop Derek Jeter reported no problems after taking batting practice for the first time since dislocating his left shoulder on opening day. Jeter is undergoing rehab in Tampa.

Despite back-to-back losses, the Yankees have maintained a 3 1/2 game advantage in the East standings over the Boston Red Sox. New York owns just a 5-5 record over its last 10 contests.