For once, the Mariners (40-38) were the ones going long, as two home runs pushed them to an 8-4 victory over the Yankees today in New York.
But the bullpen was the real star today for Seattle, going five scoreless innings, from Miguel Batista to Mark Lowe to David Aardsma, after starter Jason Vargas gave up four runs in four innings.
The win puts Seattle at an even 3-3 thus far on a brutal road trip that ends with the upcoming three-game set against the Red Sox.
To continue...
Facing Yankees ace C.C Sabathia, the Mariners offense got to him early and often, starting with a good bit of small ball in the first. After leading off with a double, Ichiro Suzuki stole third and reached home on a Jose Lopez ground out.
Seattle increased its lead to 3-0 in the second after Franklin Gutierrez hit the game's first home run, and Chris Woodward earned his first RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly.
He would earn another in a three-run fourth inning with an RBI single. Woodward would then reach home on Suzuki's second double of the game, a two-run effort that went to deep center, just off the outstretched glove of Melky Cabrera.
Hideki Matsui's home run in the bottom of the fourth would bring the Yankees within two, but they wouldn't reach home again in the game.
Russell Branyan brought the game to its final score with his 20th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the ninth.
It wouldn't be a complete breeze though. Matsui opened the seventh with a double but wouldn't get any further while Alex Rodriguez came within a foot of his third-straight game with a home run in the eighth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Aardsma faced some trouble as the first two batters he faced reached base. But two-straight fly outs followed by a strikeout brought the game to a close.
In his first game as a Mariner, Ryan Langerhans went 2-for-4 with a double, though he didn't score or drive in any runs. He bat seventh in the lineup.
For the Fourth of July weekend, the Mariners travel to Boston, beginning at 4:10 p.m. tomorrow.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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