Game 89 / 49-40 / 1st / +4.5G : On the heels of a strong finish to the first half, winning 7 of 10 before the All-Star break, the Yankees picked up where they left off with a 4-3 win over the visiting Mariners. Masahiro Tanaka kept it close over 7 innings, and Alex Rodriguez delivered the game-winner with a solo blast to right-center in the 7th. New York’s bullpen held it down from there, for a season-high mark of 9 games over .500.
Here’s the box score, full recap, and video highlights.
Yankees 4, Mariners 3
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- Masahiro Tanaka Another solid start from the ace. Erase Klye Seager from the equation and we’re talkin’ lights out. Tanaka went 7, striking out 7 while scattering only 5 hits, with all 3 earned runs attributed to Seager’s two blasts.
“The at-bats against Seager, they were just bad pitches that I threw and he got the most out of it. But other than that, I felt pretty good out there.” ‐ Masahiro Tanaka
(h/t: Alden Woods/mlb.com) - Chris Young The righty hitter continues to pound left-handed pitchers — and good ones at that — clubbing his 11th home run of the season off Seattle starter Mike Montgomery in the second inning, giving the Yanks a 1-0 lead. He just missed a second homer in the 4th, doubling off the base of the left field wall, and scoring on Chase Headley’s single for a 2-1 Yankee lead. To date, Young has started in every game so far when the Yanks faced a lefty.
- Alex Rodriguez A-Rod’s solo home run off M’s reliever Joe Beimel (his 19th of the season and 52nd RBI) broke the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 7th, and proved to be the game-winning run.
- Brian McCann Game tying RBI laser single to right to tie the game at 3 in the 5th inning. Good to see the four day break hasn’t affected his batting eye.
- Dellin Betances The Yankees All-Star set-up man/closer picked up on his first-half power pitching, setting down the M’s in order in the 8th including a strikeout of AL All-Star DH Nelson Cruz.
- Kenny Singleton Quick props to the best color announcer in Major League Baseball bar none. Whenever he is in the booth, listeners are treated to insanely great insights to even the smallest nuances of the game. He is a treasure of the organization, and better have a life-time contract with a raise every year!
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MEMORY LANE : On today’s date in 1941, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio‘s 56 game hitting streak was stopped in Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium by two Indian hurlers — Al Smith and Jim Bagby — before a crowd of 67,000 plus. It’s a record that stands to this day …
Don Mattingly became the first American League player to hit at least one home run in each of seven consecutive games as the Yankees defeated the Texas Rangers, 8-4 on July 17, 1987 …
On today’s date in the magical season of 1998, the Yankees posted the incredible record of 67-23 in their first 90 games, good for a 14-game lead over the second place Boston Red Sox. Boston’s 55-39 mark at the time would be good enough for first place in any other season except this one … (h/t: Today in Baseball History, Baseball-Reference.com)
FOOTNOTES : Old friend Vidal Nuno, traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in last season’s acquisition of Brandon McCarthy, and now with Seattle entered the game in the bottom of the 8th to face Garrett Jones. Nuno got Jones on a soft fly to center, then faced Jacoby Ellsbury, who got squeezed on a third strike call ..
