The Yankees bounced back after they were swept by the Red Sox last weekend, taking 2 out of 3 from the Mariners in a much needed series win. In game 1, Gerrit Cole (8-1) was stellar, pitching into the 8th inning, striking out 8 while allowing just a run en route to a 3-1 Yankees victory. The former Cy Young winner is now 4th in the league in ERA at 2.64 and 2nd in the majors in pitching WAR. The Yankee bats drove in 3 in the first 2 innings but were kept in check by Seattle’s George Kirby for the next 5, who allowed only 3 more hits. Anthony Rizzo went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Billy McKinney drove in 2 off a timely homer.
Game 2 saw Yankees rookie Jhony Brito (4-3) deliver his best outing to date since his debut, going 5.2 innings and giving up zero. New York pulled off a 4-2 win despite the bullpen allowing a run a piece in the 8th and 9th. Once again, the Yankees offense did not exactly flourish, producing just 5 hits and relying heavily on the home run ball. Homers by Anthony Volpe (10), Jake Bauers (6), and McKinney (3) produced all 4 Yankee runs. More bad injury news for the Yankees – outfielder Willie Calhoun, ever the hustler, pulled his quad in the 8th and missed the rest of the series.
Game 3 was a complete turn around, as Seattle thrashed the Yankees 10-2, scoring all of their runs by the end of the 4th. Domingo German (4-5) let up 4 homers and 8 runs through just 3.1 and was unable to keep his breaking ball down in the zone. Kolten Wong and Ty France both went deep in the 2nd and Teoscar Hernández went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs. To make matters worse, the Yankees defense committed 3 errors in the 3rd inning, which led to an additional 2 runs. 7 Mariners drove in runs and the team played very well in the field, taking away multiple scoring chances from New York. A small upside for the Yankees is that their bullpen was stellar, pitching 5.2 with no earned runs and a whopping 10 K’s. Isaih Kiner-Falefa produced the Yankees only runs, with a 2-run shot in the 9th. Seattle Rookie Bryan Woo earned his first win and gave up no hits through 5 innings, striking out 5.
McKinney was the star of the series, going 4 for 9 with 2 big homers and 3 RBI. Rizzo had a good series going 4 for 9 with 3 walks while Volpe went 3 for 7 with 2 walks and only 1 strikeout, so more discipline at the plate and contact hitting. The Yankees now look ahead to their final series of the homestead against the 46-28 Texas Rangers who lead the AL West.
