Mariners 4, Yankees 2
SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners continued to make the New York Yankees' trip to the West Coast as painful as possible Tuesday.
It wasn't just that the Mariners scored a 4-2 win that sent the Yankees to their fifth loss in six games on the trip. More notable was that New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez came out of the game after taking a eighth-inning fastball off his left hand.
There was no immediate indication of the severity of the injury.
Seattle starter Felix Hernandez seemed to have the game in hand into the seventh inning, having allowed just one hit since the fourth inning while holding a 3-1 lead.
Hernandez plunked Ichiro Suzuki with two outs in the seventh. That amounted to nothing, but when Hernandez hit Derek Jeter to open the eighth, then one out later hit Rodriguez, that was the end of the line for him.
The Yankees got a run on Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly against rookie reliever Lucas Luetge, but the lefty came back to strike out Raul Ibanez to keep Seattle in front, 3-2.
Although Yankees manager Joe Girardi burned through his bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, bringing on four men in relief after starter Freddy Garcia got the first out, the Mariners loaded the bases on walks, then scored on Kyle Seager's check-swing single that dribbled down the third base line.
Hernandez (9-5) got the win, his fifth since his last loss on June 12. Tom Wilhelmsen pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 attempts.
Both teams had their center fielders batting second in the lineup, and both men homered in their first at-bat.
Curtis Granderson lit into the first pitch he saw from Hernandez and drove it into the right field seats for his 27th homer as New York jumped to a quick 1-0 lead.
Michael Saunders countered with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning. It was his 10th, matching the career high he established two years ago. It was the second time he'd homered in the last month, since hitting No. 8 on June 23.
Seattle got nothing out of leadoff single in the second, but when Brendan Ryan opened with a hit off of Garcia to start the third, the Mariners offense kicked in. Saunders stung a single to right on which Ryan challenged Ichiro by lighting out for third base. Ichiro's throw was strong but late.
Jesus Montero snapped the tie with a broken-bat single over the infield, and then John Jaso hit a deep fly to center on which Saunders had no trouble tagging up and coming home for a 3-1 lead.
Seattle preserved that lead through the middle of the game, with Hernandez dodging bullets all over the place. He had to pitch out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth and escape the trouble imposed by Ichiro's leadoff double in the fifth.
NOTES: For the second night running, Ichiro got a standing ovation his first time to the plate. This time, however, Ichiro didn't step out of the batter's box to acknowledge the ovation. The longtime Mariners star was traded to the Yankees before Monday's game. ... Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner had right elbow surgery Tuesday. The doctors have not yet given an estimate of when Gardner might be able to play again. ... Before the game, Seattle activated first baseman Mike Carp from the disabled list after a 20-day rehab assignment and promoted outfielder Trayvon Robinson from Triple-A Tacoma. Robinson will be a backup outfielder. Carp, who began the season in left field before shoulder problems led to two stints on the disabled list, will be the regular first baseman and an occasional DH.
