While the Seattle Mariners talked up their ability to stage a comeback against Clay Holmes, the New York Yankees accepted the reality of a stunning loss.
After an unlikely outcome in the series opener, the teams will continue a four-game series Tuesday night when the Mariners visit the Yankees.
The Mariners staged a four-run rally in the ninth inning off Holmes to open the series with a 5-4 victory. Ty France hit the tiebreaking single after Dominic Canzone had tied the score with a sacrifice fly. Canzone also hit a solo homer in the eighth inning.
Luke Raley had three hits for Seattle, and Mitch Haniger had a run-scoring base hit when the Mariners got four hits off Holmes, who threw 31 pitches to eight hitters.
It was Seattle’s second late-inning comeback win on its 10-game road trip. The Mariners improved to 2-2 on the trek after scoring two in the eighth in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
“I just think we never give in,” Raley said. “Obviously Holmes has been throwing the ball really well and we’re able to kind of dink and dunk them for a couple of runs.”
The Yankees, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped on Monday, are attempting to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since April 29-30 against the Orioles. New York scored six runs in that four-game series and followed it by winning 13 of 15 before Monday’s setback.
New York seized a three-run lead on Alex Verdugo’s two-run double in the first inning and RBI single in the fifth. Aaron Judge had two more hits and reached four times but struck out in the ninth with Juan Soto on first base.
“A loss is a loss,” Judge said. “We have one of the best closers in the game, and stuff like that is bound to happen at some point, and it did. You never like to see that, and you never want that outcome, but we lost and got to come out tomorrow and right the ship.”
After New Yorki’s Marcus Stroman allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings on Monday, teammate Clarke Schmidt (5-1, 2.49 ERA) can join Kansas City’s Seth Lugo and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal as the American League’s third six-game winner as he puts a 15 2/3-inning scoreless streak on the line.
Since taking his only loss of the season on April 29 in Baltimore, Schmidt is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA over his past three outings.
Schmidt, a right-hander, is coming off the best of his 46 career starts last Thursday. He allowed three hits and notched career-bests in strikeouts (eight) and innings (eight) in a 5-0 win at Minnesota.
Schmidt took a no-decision in his lone career outing against the Mariners, when he allowed three hits and struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings of a 1-0 loss at Seattle last May 31.
Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo (1-0, 0.93) will make his third start since missing time due to right elbow inflammation. Woo followed up 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his season debut May 10 against the Oakland Athletics by allowing one run on three hits in 5 1/3 frames on Wednesday vs. the Kansas City Royals. Seattle won that game 4-2.
Woo’s only previous start against the Yankees occurred in a 10-2 win in New York on June 22, when he allowed two hits in 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
–Field Level Media
