SEATTLE -- A night after overwhelming ace Felix Hernandez in one of their best wins of the season, the New York Yankees followed with one of their most improbable -- a wild 5-3, 11-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.
Right fielder Garrett Jones provided the go-ahead three-run homer off left-hander Joe Beimel in the top of the 11th before closer Andrew Miller worked around a two-out RBI single from Robinson Cano and fanned Nelson Cruz to earn his 16th save.
It came after the Yankees forced extras when second baseman Stephen Drew, who entered with a .160 batting average, lined a two-out RBI double in the top of ninth off closer Fernando Rodney to tie it at 2.
The win pushed the Yankees to 28-25 and helped them keep their one-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
CC can’t catch a break: CC Sabathia (2-7, 5.45 ERA) had received one run or fewer of support in five of his 10 starts this season entering Tuesday. So it was only fitting the Yankees squeaked out one run against Mariners left-hander Mike Montgomery, who pitched six solid frames in his major league debut before New York finally got to Rodney in the ninth. The late rally kept him from his eighth loss.
McClendon loses it: The Yankees caught a break in the third inning when center fielder Brett Gardner was awarded a walk after he appeared to go around on a 3-2 pitch from Montgomery. Umpire Tony Randazzo ruled that Gardner checked his swing. When Alex Rodriguez checked his on a 3-2 pitch later in the inning, he too was awarded a walk.
Almost immediately, Mariners catcher Mike Zunino was ejected for arguing. McClendon came sprinting out of the dugout and berated umpire Will Little at first, threw and kicked his hat, began arguing with home plate umpire Mike DiMuro, then sprinted out to third to argue with Tony Randazzo -- who had ruled that Gardner didn’t swing -- before finally leaving the field to a standing ovation.
It was all for naught, as Mark Teixeira followed by lining an RBI double for a 1-0 lead.
Next: Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will be activated from the 15-day disabled list and make his first start since April 23 on Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. ET as the Yankees wrap up their seven-game West Coast road trip. Tanaka, who was sidelined with right wrist tendinitis and a right forearm strain, will be limited to 80-85 pitches, Girardi said Tuesday. The Mariners will counter with right-hander Taijuan Walker (2-5, 6.18 ERA). The 22-year-old flamethrower entered the season with high expectations but had largely struggled until his last outing. In a win over the Cleveland Indians, he tied career highs with eight innings and eight strikeouts. He allowed no runs, two hits and didn’t issue a walk.
