Light-hitting infielder Luis Rodriguez, playing only because regular shortstop Brendan Ryan couldn’t, doubled twice and homered leading off the 12th inning Wednesday – sparking a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees.
With a crowd of 20,327 fans at Safeco Field, pitching dominated the final game of the three-game series, and five Seattle pitchers held New York to just four hits.
Rodriguez, batting .176 when the game began, had a third of the Mariners’ nine hits, and his home run made a winner of rookie right-handed reliever Steve Delabar, whose 2011 season began with him coaching high school baseball in Kentucky.
For the Mariners, the victory was their 62nd, one fewer than they had all of 2010, and a reminder that though the losses have piled up, this is a young team that still doesn’t know why it shouldn’t hang with the big teams.
Jason Vargas set the tone with 62/3 marvelous innings against New York, followed to the mound by Jamey Wright, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen and Delabar.
Trying to build on his last-start victory over Kansas City, Vargas took on the Yankees with a fastball he threw inside – one that touched 90 mph in the first few innings – and his usual assortment of change-ups and breaking balls.
Inning after inning, Vargas shut the Yankees out rather than overpower them, with the results looking much the same.
Through six innings, New York had two hits. Vargas and the Mariners led, 1-0.
That lone run came in the fourth inning, after a two-out walk to Mike Carp, a single to Adam Kennedy and … an Ivan Nova wild pitch.
Into the seventh inning, Vargas went, getting two quick outs there and then, on his 101st pitch, centering one that Nick Swisher turned on and hit his 23rd home run.
It got the Yankees even and chased Vargas, who was denied a win by run support rather than anything he’d done wrong on the mound. Hold the Yankees to one run through 6-plus innings, that’s a job well done.
For the second time in as many nights, it was the Mariners’ offense that hindered them against one of the most powerful teams in baseball. Oddly enough, it was Seattle that had the most opportunities to score.
The Mariners threatened in the second and third innings, but each time Nova got out of trouble with a double-play ground ball – first from Wily Mo Peña, then Ichiro Suzuki.
When Seattle scored on the wild pitch in the fourth, the Mariners had a runner at third base with two outs. Miguel Olivo struck out to leave him there. When the Mariners got Luis Rodriguez to second base in the fifth inning – the first of his two doubles – Ichiro flied out to strand him.
Again in the eighth inning, the Mariners put together a can’t-miss shot at going ahead: A Rodriguez double, a sacrifice bunt and intentional walk to Ichiro put runners on with one out – and Ichiro stole second base.
Kyle Seager flied out.
Dustin Ackley took a third strike.
And the game rolled on.
In the 10th inning, rookie Trayvon Robinson’s one-out double led the Yankees to intentionally walk Ichiro again – and once again New York got Seager on a lazy fly ball and Ackley on a strikeout.
The Mariners’ bullpen was up to the challenge of holding New York at one run.
Wilhelmsen worked the 10th and 11th, and got a little help in the latter. With two outs, Mark Teixeira appeared to get just enough of a fastball to make it dicey. Saunders, a late defensive sub in center field, tracked the ball to the wall in right-center, leaped and caught it at the painted yellow line.
When the 12th inning began, Wilhelmsen – the former bartender – was replaced on the mound by rookie Delabar, who was a substitute teacher in January.
Delabar hit Robinson Cano in the foot, then put the Yankees down in order.
Rodriguez then went deep, and the Mariners had a win.
It came with a bit of a cost: first baseman Justin Smoak – who has had just about every malady a body could withstand this season. This time: strained right groin. He was replaced in the fourth inning by veteran Kennedy.
larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.