Yankees rally late to hand Mariners 6th straight loss

NEW YORK -- Jose Molina hit a two-out RBI double to cap a four-run eighth inning, and the New York Yankees came back to beat the slumping Seattle Mariners 6-5 this afternoon for their season-best fifth straight victory.

The Yankees won consecutive series for the first time this season, while the Mariners have lost a season-worst six games in a row. Seattle owns the worst record in the AL at 18-33.

New York (25-25) was down 5-2 coming into the eighth and had been 0-23 when trailing after seven innings. Derek Jeter led off with a walk against reliever Sean Green before Arthur Rhodes came in for the lefty-on-lefty matchup against Bobby Abreu, who doubled to drive in Jeter.

In came closer J.J. Putz (1-2) to try to get the six-out save. Instead, he got the loss. Putz walked Alex Rodriguez and struck out Jason Giambi looking to bring up pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui, who had been rested against left-handed starter Jarrod Washburn.

Matsui hit a soft grounder to the right of the mound, and Putz fielded it with a dive. But his attempt to throw to first from his knees was wild, allowing Abreu to score and Rodriguez to move to third. Matsui was credited with an infield single and Putz was charged with an error.

Robinson Cano drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly and Matsui alertly tagged up as well, advancing to second. Molina put the Yankees on top with a double to deep right-center over the head of Ichiro Suzuki, who was playing shallow in center and took a poor route toward the ball.

Edwar Ramirez (1-0) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless inning to get the win. Mariano Rivera picked up his 12th save in 12 chances with a perfect ninth as New York completed its second three-game sweep of Seattle at Yankee Stadium this month.

It was the first time this year the Yankees overcame a deficit of more than two runs to win a game.

Jarrod Washburn allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, while Suzuki had a solo homer and was in the middle of two other rallies to help give the Mariners their three-run lead.

New York first baseman Shelley Duncan had an eventful fourth inning, when the Yankees threw out two runners at the plate but still gave up two runs. Chien-Ming Wang's wildness started the rally, as two walks sandwiched around an infield hit loaded the bases with no outs.

Wladimir Balentien hit a grounder to third, and Rodriguez forced out Beltre at home. But the Yankees couldn't quite turn the double play, as first base umpire Tim McClelland ruled that Balentien beat the relay at first.

Yuniesky Betancourt then singled in a run to put the Mariners up 2-1. With the infield drawn in, Suzuki gave them a 3-1 run lead, and he reached base when his RBI grounder went off Duncan's glove for an error.

The ball hit by the next batter also glanced off Duncan's glove, but this time it worked out for the Yankees. With the runners retreating back to their bases on Jose Lopez's line drive, Duncan recovered to throw home to get one out. Then Molina threw to second, where Suzuki was tagged out to end the inning.

Wang's start had been pushed back a day because of a sore right calf. Manager Joe Girardi's only concern was any defensive plays that would require him to rush off the mound. But Wang handled several chances with no apparent problems.

Girardi and a trainer visited the mound in the second, after Wang knocked down a groundball, chased it down and threw out Kenji Johjima. But they quickly returned to the dugout.

Wang gave up five runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Girardi left Wang in to start the seventh with the right-hander approaching 100 pitches. Betancourt lined out to left to open the inning, then the next three batters got hits to put Seattle up 5-2. Suzuki singled, Lopez doubled, and Jose Vidro drove them both in with a single.

Notes: When Johnny Damon stole third in the third, it was the first time a base was stolen against Washburn since July 24 -- a streak of 121 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Rodriguez added a steal of second in the sixth. ... The next step in Joba Chamberlain's transition from reliever to starter is for him to throw about 55 pitches on Tuesday or Wednesday, Girardi said. Girardi wants Chamberlain to get up to 75-80 pitches before he's ready to start. Girardi acknowledged that it might take some creativity to get Chamberlain all the pitches he needs as the target number increases. Chamberlain might do some throwing in the bullpen to reach the totals.