Austin Romine had a flashback to his minor league days when he saw a pair of legs dangling over the top of the dugout in the middle of the eighth inning during the Yankees’ 5-0 win over the Mariners on Wednesday. “He’s been locked in and it’s been fun to watch”.
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Joe Girardi admitted the stunt “kind of freaked me out”. And each time, Mark Teixeira – with 404 career home runs – was the Yankee on deck. “It means that (Seattle manager) Scott Servais is paying attention to how he is swinging, number one, besides just here in Seattle”. It was the second meeting this season between the starters and only the 13th time two pitchers from Japan have started against each other in a major-league game.
Tanaka threw seven innings, scattering six hits and walking just a single batter.
Tanaka outdid his teammate, firing seven scoreless innings against the Mariners to clinch the Yankees’ fifth series win in their last six.
“I think I was a little bit overthrowing the first couple of innings, but afterward, I was able to adjust that”, Tanaka said through a translator. Tanaka got two groundouts to end the threat.
By the seventh inning, the Mariners were so exhausted of Sanchez, who has hit nine homers and six doubles in his first 21 career games, the rookie right-hander was intentionally walked despite the fact he was facing a right-handed pitcher. “(I’m) just getting good results right now, working hard.
Girardi won his 800th game as Yankees manager, joining Joe McCarthy, Joe Torre, Casey Stengel, Miller Huggins and Ralph Houk in that club. It went up 3-0 in the fourth courtesy of Brett Gardner’s sacrifice fly. “We haven’t been shut down like that in quite some time”, Servais said. Knowing the guys in this clubhouse, if you look around at the coaching staff and everybody, we’ll show up in Chicago, we’ll go out and compete and we’ll find a way.
Leonys Martin missed a two-run home run by about a foot in the bottom of the second – instead settling for about as long a single possible – and Cano grounded into a double play with two on in the third.
Yankees: New York has a day off Thursday before opening a series at home on Friday against Baltimore. Aaron Hicks got the center field start in place of Jacob Ellsbury.
Iwakuma lost his second straight start despite giving up just three earned runs. Mike Zunino pinch-hit for Nelson Cruz, who was removed from the game with back spasms, going down looking.
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“He’s earned it. He did a lot of damage against us”, Servais said.
