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Homers power Mariners over struggling Yankees

Sep 8, 2008 - 12:33 AM By Paul Lowenberg PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Jose Lopez belted two homers and Adrian Beltre added a blast as the Seattle Mariners posted a 5-2 victory over the fading New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon.

Ryan Feierabend (1-2), a last-minute replacement for scheduled starter Carlos Silva who came down with back spasms, hurled seven solid innings for the Mariners, who took two out of three from the Yankees this weekend.

Feierabend made his fifth start for Seattle and, after giving up homers in the first and second, settled down to blank New York for the next five innings.

The 23-year-old lefthander lasted seven innings and allowed two runs and five hits while walking three and striking out four to earn his second career win and first since June 3, 2007.

"Sometimes a guy comes in not expecting to play and they haven't had a lot of time to go out there and think about it and they go out and give you a good performance," Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said. "Ryan did that today."

Despite being called on to start at the last minute, Feierabend said he stayed calm.

"I was not really nervous," he said. "After the first home run to (Derek) Jeter and the next one to (Xavier) Nady, you know solo shots don't kill you. I said it can't get any worse, so I just went out and pitched and got outs."

J.J. Putz pitched the ninth inning for his 12th save, striking out Wilson Betemit - who represented the tying run - to end the game.

The loss dropped the Yankees into fourth place behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East Division.

"We're not where we want to be and that's pretty obvious," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "There's 19 games left, and I think we're going to have to win almost all of them if not every one."

Seattle broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth on Lopez's 13th homer and added another run in the fifth on Raul Ibanez's RBI single for a 4-2 lead.

Jeter, who drove in his 1,000th run with his 205th career homer in the first inning to give New York a 1-0 lead, also tied Babe Ruth for second on the team' s all-time hit with his 2,518th career hit in the third. Nady increased the lead to 2-0 with his 10th homer in the second.

Despite his achievements, the Yankees' shortstop was in no mood to talk about them.

"I'm not sitting around here thinking about what I'm doing individually," Jeter said. "We're trying to win games and anytime you mention guys like that it's an honor, but I'm not thinking about that."

The Mariners bounced back for a 2-2 tie in the third when Beltre, who has a 13-game hitting streak, belted a two-run blast for his 25th home run.

Lopez's second blast of the game came in the eighth to extend the Mariners' lead to 5-2 and give him the first multiple homer game of his career.

"(Lopez) is a good ballplayer," Riggleman said. "Every time it looks like he's taken a step back with his batting average, he's regrouped and brought it right back up. There's a lot of potential power there that maybe hasn't been tapped into yet."

Yankees starter Mike Mussina (17-8) lost for the first time since July 28 after winning his last four decisions. Mussina, who is 19-6 in his career against Seattle, tossed six innings and allowed four runs and seven hits while walking one and striking out seven.

"I felt flat today," Mussina said. "I thought it was going to take my best stuff today, considering the way their guy was pitching. When you get in situations where you don't feel like you are throwing the ball where you want to, you end up in some bad spots."