Game recap: Yankees 2, Mariners 1

Takeaway

In a series dominated by home runs, Mark Teixeira hit the last one, a solo shot in the eighth inning off Fernando Rodney that lifted the New York Yankees to a 2-1 victory and a series win Sunday against the Mariners (42-50), who have lost an American League-high 14 times in their opponents’ final at-bat (box score). Teixeira has hit 36 career home runs against Seattle.

Essential moments

While Teiixeira’s bomb was the winning blow, the Mariners for the umpteenth time couldn’t cash when presented scoring opportunities. They had a runner on second in the second inning and failed to score. In the fifth, they had runners on first and second with one out; with two outs, runners at the corners; and couldn’t get one across the plate. Seattle went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. For the year, the Mariners are batting .206 with RISP.

Hitters

Austin Jackson accounted for Seattle’s only run with with an RBI single in the fifth following a Jesus Montero single. Montero, who got the call as Seattle’s designated hitter, went 2-for-2 with a walk and run scored. He’s batting .300 since his recall from AAA Tacoma. Montero had Seattle’s only multi-hit game.

Mike Zunino (0-for-3) whiffed twice and is batting .158. The Mariners out-hit the Yankees 7-6.

Pitchers

Felix Hernandez departed with the score 1-1 after working six innings with five strikeouts and three walks. By taking a no-decision, Hernandez failed to become the American League leader in wins with 12. Hernandez threw 97 pitches, allowing his only run on Carlos Beltran’s RBI single in the sixth. Reliever Vidal Nuno replaced Hernandez and recorded four consecutive outs before giving way to Rodney, who has allowed three home runs in his past five appearances.

Words

“It was a fantastic game, it was just unfortunate that the good guys didn’t win. (Fernando) Rodney did a fantastic job against Alex Rodriguez yesterday and today, which is why we used him against Teixeira. He just missed his spot. The ball got away from him” — manager Lloyd McClendon.

Noteworthy

The Mariners, 22-23 on the road, have not won back-to-back contests since June 30-July 1 . . . They are 9-15-6 in series played and 7-8 in July . . . . . . Fifth-three of Seattle’s 92 games have been decided by two or fewer runs . . . The Mariners, who fell to 2-9 in rubber games, are 9-21 in the final game of a series after dropping 13 of their last 15 . . . The Mariners have played 34 one-run games (18-16) . . . .Logan Morrison got the day off. He’s in a 12-for-90 slump (.133) . . . Reliever Charlie Furbush probably will not be activated from the disabled list Thursday when he becomes eligible, due to a lack of progress in his attempt to recover from biceps tendinitis. Furbush has been on the DL since July 8.

Next

The Mariners begin a four-game series at Comerica Park in Detroit Monday at 4:08 p.m., PT. LHP J.A. Happ (4-5, 4.14) will throw for Seattle opposite RHP Alfredo Simon (8-6, 4.53). Happ has been on assignment at A Bakersfield since before the All-Star break in order to give the Mariners an extra bat.