Mariners Game Recap: Cano Triumphant in Return to Yankee Standium

The Seattle Mariners (42-49) beat the New York Yankees (49-41) 4-3 on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. With the win, the M’s were able to even the series with the Yanks at a game apiece. Hisashi Iwakuma (2-1, 4.89 ERA) turned in a strong outing to earn the win for Seattle. Michael Pineda (9-6, 3.77 ERA) never found his groove, and took the loss for New York. Carson Smith allowed a run to cross the plate in the final inning, but managed to recover in time to notch his 7th save of the season.

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Hisashi Iwakuma hurled 8 shutout frames against the Angels his last time out, and he picked up right where he left off today in New York. Iwakuma worked 5.2 quality innings for the M’s, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits. Kuma fanned 5 and did not issue a walk en route to picking up the win. His problems with the long ball continued however, as he surrendered a 2-run homer in the 4th. The 34-year-old right-hander is at his best when he is throwing a lot of strikes, and he did a nice job today with 54 of his 76 pitches finding the zone.

Joe Beimel coughed up the go ahead run a night ago, but he rebounded nicely this afternoon. The veteran southpaw retired the only man he faced to end the Yankees’ 6th. Mark Lowe has been one of the top pitchers in the Mariners’ bullpen this season, and he worked a scoreless 7th inning today. Vidal Nuno and Fernando Rodney combined to keep the Yanks off the scoreboard in the 8th.

Carson Smith got the ball in the 9th, and immediately got himself into trouble. He gave up a leadoff double, but managed to get the next man swinging for the first out. Smitty then struck out Chase Headley, but his wipeout slider had so much movement that it got away from Mike Zunino and Headley was able to reach safely. Garrett Jones plated a run on an RBI ground out to make it a 4-3 game. Thankfully, the 25-year-old right-hander was able to induce a game-ending ground out to preserve the M’s big win.

Michael Pineda did not have the start he was hoping for against his former team. Pineda allowed 4 runs to cross the plate on 6 hits across 6 innings of work. He struck out just 2 M’s and issued 2 walks. A pair of 2-run home runs proved costly for Pineda and the Yanks today. The 26-year-old right-hander was replaced by Carson Shreve in the top of the 7th. Shreve worked 1.2 perfect innings to keep the Yanks in the game. Adam Warren allowed a couple of men to reach base, but registered 1.1 scoreless innings.

Robinson Cano paced the Mariners’ offense in today’s win, going 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and accounting for all 4 M’s runs. Kyle Seager clubbed a pair of homers last night, and he finished 1 for 4 with 2 runs scored this afternoon. Brad Miller did a nice job in the leadoff spot, going 1 for 4. Nelson Cruz tallied his first hit since the All-Star break, finishing 1 for 2 on the day with 2 walks.

Brian McCann was the standout performer for the Yankees on offense. The All-Star backstop finished 1 for 4, and yanked a game-tying 2-run home run in the 4th. Didi Gregorius has had trouble filling Derek Jeter‘s shoes at short this season in New York, but he went 1 for 4 with a double this afternoon. Mark Teixeira kicked off the 9th with a double off the center field wall, and finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored on the day.

Jul 18, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman

Robinson Cano

(22) blows a bubble as he runs up the first baseline after hitting a two run home run against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Robby Cano called Yankee Stadium home for the first 9 seasons of his career, and he sure looked comfortable there today. Cano gave Seattle an early 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning when he launched a rocket over the wall in center field. The M’s recaptured the lead in the 6th when Cano turned on a Michael Pineda cutter and deposited it into the right field seats. Cano entered the game with just 6 home runs on the season, so today’s power surge was a pleasant surprise. Robby has caught a lot of flack for his poor performance this season, but he has shown signs of life at the dish over the last month. Since June 19th, Cano is hitting .299 with 6 doubles, 6 home runs and 14 RBI’s. Those numbers may not be earth shattering, but they are a huge improvement over what he did in April and May.

Seattle inched closer to the Los Angeles Angels with the win this afternoon. They now sit 8 games out of first place in the American League West. The M’s also gained some ground in the wildcard race, closing the gap to 7.5 games.

The Seattle Mariners (42-49) will take on the New York Yankees (49-41) in the rubber match of their 3-game set on Sunday afternoon in the Big Apple. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 am from the Bronx. Felix Hernandez (11-5, 2.84 ERA) will be tasked with winning the series for the M’s tomorrow, and C.C. Sabathia (4-8, 5.47 ERA) will be on the bump for the home side in the series finale. Root Sports Northwest will broadcast the game live locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.

Next: 5 Mariners that Need to Step Up in the 2nd Half

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