Yankees defeat Mariners, 4-2

Alex Rodriguez watches his eighth-inning, two-run home run sail over... — Alex Rodriguez watches his eighth-inning, two-run home run sail over the right field wall to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. (July 1, 2010) Credit: AP

By Hunter AtkinsJuly 1, 2010

FINAL SCORE: Mariners 2, Yankees 4

W: C. Sabathia (10-3)
L: D. Aardsma (0-5)
S: M. Rivera (18)

Top 9th:

Enter Sandman. Yankees bring in Mariano Rivera for CC Sabathia. Sabathia's final line: 8 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 ER, 2 BBs and 4 Ks.

Bradley flies out to the warning track in right for OUT ONE.

Lopez grounds out to third for OUT TWO.

Gutierrez strikes out swinging on a high fastball for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 2, Yankees 4

Bottom 8th:

Mariners bring in hard-throwing closer David Aardsma.

Aardsma goes at Swisher with straight cheese and strikes him out for OUT ONE.

Teixeira singles to center.

On a 0-1 95 mph fastball, Rodriguez sends a soaring 2-run homer to right field. It was his 12th homer of the year and his 595th career homer. He has also tied Graig Nettles for 8th on the all-time Yankees home run list with 250 homers.

Cano flies out to left for OUT TWO.

Posada strikes out looking on a low-and-away fastball for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 2, Yankees 4

Top 8th:

Bard walks.

Back-peddling quickly, Jeter catches a Saunders pop-up to left for OUT ONE. Bard remains at first.

Ichiro singles to shallow center and Bard moves to second.

Joba Chamberlin begins to warm up.

Figgins pops up to Cano and strands runners at first and second for OUT TWO.

Runners advance to second and third on a passed ball.

After the passed ball, Branyan sends a liner to right, driving in Bard and Ichiro to tie the game at 2-2. Branyan is caught at second after the cutoff by Teixeira (9-3-6) for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: Sabathia pitched well, throwing 71 of his 117 pitches for strikes. Only one of the runs that scored was earned. Posada's gaff is mostly responsible for the unraveling. Expect to hear Enter Sandman next inning.

SCORE: Mariners 2, Yankees 2

Bottom 7th:

Mariners bring in RHP Brian Sweeney for Ryan Roland-Smith. Roland-Smith's final line: 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 3 BBs, 2 Ks and 1 HR.

Gardner goes down looking on a high changeup and strikes out for OUT ONE.

Pena flies out to center for OUT TWO.

Jeter grounds to third for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Top 7th:

Bradley breaks his bat on a liner to Cano for OUT ONE.

Lopez walks.

Wilson flies out to left field for OUT TWO. Lopez remains at first.

Gutierrez (.278) pinch-hits for Langerhans. Gutierrez was originally out of the starting lineup today with flu-like symptoms.

Ahead on an off-speed pitch, Gutierrez grounds to Pena, who throws to second for the force OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Bottom 6th:

Swisher sends a sharp liner directly to the left fielder for OUT ONE.

Teixeira tops a ground to third for OUT TWO. He is 23-for-97 (.237) against lefties this year. He batted .305 versus lefties last year.

Rodriguez doubles off the wall.

Cano is intentionally walked, igniting jeers.

Posada walks to load the bases.

Granderson grounds out to first base and loses as foot-race to the bag for OUT THREE. Granderson is 4-for-21 (.190) with runners in scoring position and 2 outs this year.

Pitching Wrap: It is unlikely Roland-Smith will come back to pitch the 7th. He has thrown 109 pitches, with just 65 of them being strikes. Plus, the Mariners have double-barreled action in the bullpen.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Top 6th:

Pena leaps to snare a chopper from Ichiro and throws to first for OUT ONE.

Cano snares a liner from Figgins for OUT TWO.

Branyan is jammed and flies out to right for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: A 10-pitch inning for Sabathia. He's cruising at 75 total pitches.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2.

Bottom 5th:

Gardner grounds to third and Lopez fires an absolute scorcher to first for OUT ONE.

Pena strikes out looking on a borderline outside fastball for OUT TWO. Pena did not like the call.

Jeter gets jammed and grounds to short for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Top 5th:

Wilson flies out to left on the first pitch for OUT ONE. Swinging on the first pitch is not the best strategy considering Sabathia's pitch count.

Langerhans pulls a single past a diving Cano.

With the defense playing back and up the middle, Langerhans steals second base uncontested.

After a mound conference, Sabathia strikes out Bard on an inside changeup for OUT TWO.

Langerhans lines out to first base for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Bottom 4th:

Teixeira singles to left to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

Rodriguez grounds into a 5-4-3 double play. Rodriguez did not seem to give maximum effort to beat out the play, suggesting he is still struggling with a hurt hip.

Cano homers on a first-pitch changeup for his 16th homer of the year and 54th RBI.

Posada walks.

Granderson is out on a shallow fly to left for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: Roland-Smith has straightened out a bit, bettering the pace of his pitch count and only allowing four hits. The problem is that he's facing CC Sabathia.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 2

Top 4th:

Figgins grounds to second for OUT ONE.

Branyan flinches and freezes on a devastating slider and strikes out for OUT TWO.

Bradley lines the first pitch to right for a single.

Pena gobbles up a grounder heading foul and fires a long throw to a stretched-out Teixeira and nails Lopez for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: Sabathia's pitch total is at 49 pitches, a decent mark that has the bullpen in good shape as long as the Mariners continue to struggle.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Bottom 3rd:

Pena grounds to second for OUT ONE.

Jeter grounds hard to the pitcher for OUT TWO. This is the second consecutive grounder Jeter has sent at the pitcher.

Swisher sends one a light-year high on a fly out to short for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Top 3rd:

Bard grounds out hard to second base for OUT ONE.

Saunders can't catch up to a high-and-away 94 mph heater by Sabathia and strikes out for OUT TWO.

Teixeira tops one to first for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Bottom 2nd:

Posada grounds weakly to short for OUT ONE.

Granderson grounds to second for OUT TWO. He is now 3 for his last 18 (.167).

Langerhans, who started in left field today in replace of the ill Gutierrez, lays out to catch Gardner's fly ball for OUT THREE.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Top 2nd:

Bradley hits a ground-rule double.

Lopez yanks one to first base for OUT ONE. Bradley advances to third.

Wilson pops up to Cano for OUT TWO.

Langerhans stares at a 95 mph outside fastball and strikes out for OUT THREE. Bradley is stranded at third.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Bottom first:

Jeter lines one off the pitcher's leg and cruises to first with an infield single.

Swisher laces one into the left-center gap and strolls into second base, moving Jeter to third.

Teixeira grounds to short for the fielder's choice, driving in Jeter from third and recording OUT ONE. Swisher remains on second base.

Rodriguez strikes out for OUT TWO. It looked like Arod was guessing--he struck out on a high 89 mph fastball.

Cano reaches out and pokes a fly into center field, but shortstop Josh Wilson races back to make a nifty grab for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: With little movement on his changeup and low velocity on his fastball, this could be a short day for Roland-Smith. He threw 23 pitches in the first.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 1

Top 1st:

Ichiro flies out to center on second pitch for OUT ONE.

Swisher races in from right to catch Figgins' fly ball for OUT TWO.

Branyan flies out to center for OUT THREE.

Pitching Wrap: Sabathia makes quick work of the first inning, throwing just seven pitches. A long outing will salvage the Yankees' taxed bullpen.

SCORE: Mariners 0, Yankees 0

Potential Milestones: Alex Rodriguez is one stolen base away from 300 career stolen bases and he is one home run shy of tying Graig Nettles for eighth on the all-time Yankees home run leaders with 250 home runs. CC Sabathia is 2 1/3 innings away from 2000 career innings pitched.

Reigning in July, here are today's lineups:

Mariners lineup: