Seattle Mariners 6 — New York Yankees 3
On a rainy night in the Bronx, the once beloved Yankee made his first return to the Stadium.
While there was a game tonight, the talk of the night was the return of Robinson Cano. In his first at-bat, Robinson Cano was greeted with a shower of rain and a shower of boos. The boos did not stop, they were constant through the length of his at-bat. Cheers only occurred on strikes to the former pinstriped second baseman. The crowd would erupt with a strike out of Cano by CC Sabathia.
Taking the field, Robinson Cano received a familiar visitor’s “roll call” from the Bleacher Creatures but received a vengeful “You sold out.” chant as well. He would not factor into the defense early in the game and Mark Teixeira would give the Yankees the early lead with power that he carried over from Sunday’s game as he hit his third home run in the second inning.
In the third inning, the Yankees would score their second run on a throwing error by catcher Mike Zunino when he tried to throw Brett Gardner out, trying to steal second base. This allowed Brian Roberts to score and the Yankees were in good shape.
That is, until the fifth inning.
In the fifth inning, Zunino would reach first base on an overturned call after initially being called out. Willie Bloomquist would hit a single to put runners on the corners and former Yankee farmhand Abraham Almonte dropped an unusual bunt single that caught everyone off-guard to load the bases with no one out. Robinson Cano would productively ground out to first, scoring their first run of the game. With two outs, Corey Hart would come through with a two-run double to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead. Justin Smoak would hit a single to bring home the fourth run of the inning and the Mariners would not look back.
In just five innings, CC Sabathia allowed four runs on nine hits while striking out six. He threw 98 pitches.
Getting one hit in 10 opportunities with runners in scoring position means the Yankees had their chances, including having two on in the eighth and ninth inning but only scoring one run. Over five at-bats, Robinson Cano went one for five with a run scored and a run batted in while striking out twice.
Win – Chris Young (1-0)
Loss – CC Sabathia (3-3)
Notables
Mariners
*Mike Zunino – 4 for 5, R, RBI (11)
*Corey Hart – 1 for 4, R, 2B, 2 RBI (9)
Yankees
*Mark Teixeira – 1 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (3) in the 2nd, RBI (6)
*Brett Gardner – 2 for 5, RBI (9)
Current Yankees Record: 15-11
