Yanks can’t take eighth straight

The Yankees (45-33) failed to complete the sweep last night against the Mariners (40-38), who beat up on starter CC Sabathia for an 8-4 win to end the Yankees winning streak.

Quick ‘Cap:
Ichiro Suzuki set himself up for a run in the first inning, and then the Mariners made it 3-0 on a homer and a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui each added a sac fly in the second to make it 3-2.

Ichiro struck again in the fourth inning when he hit a two-out, two-run double to widen the lead to 6-2. Matsui countered with a two-run shot in the fourth, but the Yankees bats were shut down by the Mariners’ bullpen from then on.

Sabathia allowed 10 hits and six earned runs over 5-2/3 innings. Alfredo Aceves relieved him and pitched well for 2-1/3 innings, but then allowed a two-run homer in the ninth inning after Mark Teixeira’s first error of the season. David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth, but there was no late comeback, as Yankees fans almost come to expect these days. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
It was a bad performance all around last night. Nobody foresaw Sabathia getting bombed, nor did anyone predict the Yankees would only settle for four runs against Jason Vargas.

It goes to show that in baseball, any team can beat any team on any given day. The Mariners weren’t complete upsets because of their great pitching staff, but the Yankees should have been able to complete the sweep with their ace on the mound.

Line of the Night:
The three Japanese players in last night’s game (Matsui, Ichiro and Kenji Johjima) combined for: 6-for-10, 5 RBI, 5 R, 2 2B, & HR.

Up Next:
The Yankees play host to the Blue Jays for a four-game series, starting Friday at 1 p.m. Each proceeding game will also start at 1 p.m. Check back for a full series preview later on.