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Yankees head out west to battle Mariners

May 27, 2011 - 3:06 PM (Sports Network) - Two lesser known Yankees were able to lift the ballclub to a series win over Toronto in the Bronx this week.

New York will be counting on some of its higher-priced players to keep the momentum going when it begins a nine-game western trek Friday night with the first of three straight games against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Veterans Andruw Jones and Freddy Garcia were able to propel the Yankees to a 7-3 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game set.

Jones went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs, four RBI and two runs scored, while Mark Teixeira also went deep for the Yankees, who have won seven of nine since a season-worst six-game losing streak and completed a six-game homestand with a 4-2 mark. Garcia was credited with the win for holding the Jays to three runs in 6 1/3 innings, while future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera made some history in the ninth inning.

Rivera made his 1,000th career appearance to become the 15th pitcher ever to reach the milestone and first to do it with one club.

"You have to be old to do that," the 41-year-old Rivera said on the team's official website. "But it's a blessing, being with the same team and being able to do that, not too often you see. Most important thing is that we won."

In other milestone news, Derek Jeter moved past Hall of Famer Cap Anson into 23rd place on the all-time runs scored list (1,713) on Wednesday. Jeter, an 11-time All-Star, is also 24 hits from reaching the 3,000-hit mark. Center fielder Curtis Granderson hasn't homered in three straight games and is second in the majors with 16. Granderson has gone deep 30 times since August 14. Toronto's Jose Bautista is on top with 19 home runs this season.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi leaped Buck Showalter on the franchise's all-time managerial wins list (314). Girardi's club is scheduled to visit the Athletics and Angels on the trek and will send A.J. Burnett to the hill Friday in the Emerald City. Burnett was 0-2 in three starts before rebounding with a win versus the nearby New York Mets in Saturday's 7-3 victory. Burnett allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 7-3 win to lift his mark to 5-3 in 10 starts.

Burnett, who raised his ERA slightly from 3.99 to 4.02, has tossed at least six innings in seven of his first 10 starts. Burnett is still searching for his first road win of the season and is 0-2 in three starts away from Yankee Stadium. He has made six career starts against Seattle, going 2-2 with a 3.83 earned run average over that span.

Seattle is back home and will begin a 10-game residency tonight versus the Yankees, Orioles and Rays. It went 5-1 on a six-game road trip through San Diego and Minnesota and posted its eighth win in 10 tries with Wednesday's 3-0 blanking of the Twins at Target Field.

Erik Bedard earned the win with six shutout innings, while David Pauley threw two scoreless innings of relief before Brandon League closed the door in the ninth for his 12th save.

Franklin Gutierrez homered and both Adam Kennedy and Brendan Ryan were credited with an RBI for the Mariners.

"We got a good energy going. We're excited and it shows in the fun baseball we're playing," Ryan said. "We have to take care of business when we get home, but five out of six on the road is good. All we have to do is keep playing good ball, winning series and the way our starters go, it doesn't matter who gets the call."

Justin Smoak has hit safely in eight of his last 11 games for Seattle, which is slated to send rookie Michael Pineda to the hill tonight. Pineda has been solid so far with a 6-2 mark and a 2.16 earned run average in nine starts, and has won back-to-back trips to the hill.

Pineda has thrown seven shutout innings during his current winning streak and struck out nine in a 4-0 win at San Diego on Saturday. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in each of his starts and is 3-1 in four home outings this season. He will see the Yankees for the first time in his career.

New York won six of 10 meetings with Seattle a year ago, with a 3-1 record in games played at Safeco Field.