SEATTLE — The New York Yankees had it comfortable for seven innings at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday. Then the Seattle Mariners woke up, and the final two innings turned into a white-knuckle finish.
When the dust settled, three Yankees did enough damage to make the difference. Cam Schlittler dominated for 6.1 innings. Paul Goldschmidt crushed a three-run homer that broke the game open. And Ben Rice answered Seattle’s charge with a solo shot that restored breathing room. Final score: Yankees 5, Mariners 3.
New York closed out a 5-1 West Coast road trip and entered Thursday as the sole leaders of the AL East. The Yankees head home Friday to open a three-game set against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium.
Schlittler continues to baffle hitters in the early going
Schlittler was the Yankees story of the afternoon at a chilly T-Mobile Park, where the temperature sat at 47 degrees at first pitch. The 25-year-old right-hander worked 6.1 innings, surrendered just two hits, walked nobody, and punched out seven batters on 79 pitches, 58 of which were strikes.
After allowing Brendan Donovan to lead off the game with a double, Schlittler retired his next 15 consecutive batters. He did not issue a walk. He did not allow another runner to reach second base.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone made no attempt to hide his admiration for what his young starter has produced.
“It’s exciting to see how dominant his stuff is, just filling up the strike zone,” Boone said. “He got some early outs and that allowed him to get pretty deep into the game with a pitch count. He’s throwing the ball incredibly well. He set the tone for us.”
Schlittler extended his scoreless stretch to 11.2 innings on the season. Over two starts, he has allowed only three hits while striking out 15. His fastball averaged 96.7 mph Wednesday, down from 98.5 mph in his season-opening win in San Francisco, though the Yankees ace touched 98.2 mph at his peak. He overcame the slight velocity dip without issue.
He is also the first Yankee in franchise history to begin a season with back-to-back starts of at least five scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Per MLB.com, Yankees starters have allowed just six runs through the first six games, the third-fewest by any team in that span since 1900.
Schlittler credited the team’s collective approach after the final out.
“I think the staff’s dominant and the bullpen’s been great as well,” he said. “The team as a whole, just feeding off each other and taking it each game, each start and keep rolling with it.”
Rice did not disagree with that assessment.
“He’s not afraid to come at you with his best stuff,” Rice said. “Clearly, he’s very difficult to hit.”
Goldschmidt’s three-run shot off Kirby swings the game
The Yankees scratched out an early lead when Rice delivered a run-scoring double in the top of the first. That 1-0 margin held until the sixth, when Goldschmidt stepped up against Mariners starter George Kirby with runners aboard. Trent Grisham and Rice had each drawn a walk to set the table.
Paul Goldschmidt turned on a Kirby offering and drove it out of the park for a three-run homer, pushing the lead to 4-0. It was his first home run of the 2026 season and his first against a right-handed pitcher since June 6 of last year. Kirby, who came in 1-1 on the young season, took the loss.
Goldschmidt, who was in the lineup in part because Giancarlo Stanton was given a planned rest day, reflected on how this group comes together.
“I love the guys in this lineup,” Goldschmidt said. “I love being a Yankee. I just have so much fun here. It’s a great team that has a chance to win. I’m happy to do whatever they need me to do.”
On the larger picture, the Yankees infielder kept the message measured.
“It’s a good week for us, but we know there’s probably still six months to go,” he said. “We’ve talked about doing the little things, playing the game and making those plays. It isn’t always about hitting a homer. Hopefully those things will pay off.”
Mariners rally in eighth, Rice answers with solo blast
Seattle refused to go quietly. The Mariners’ offense, held quiet for seven innings, stirred in the bottom of the eighth. Camilo Doval entered in relief of Fernando Cruz and got the first out, but two singles and a walk followed to load the bases with two outs.
Closer David Bednar entered with the bases loaded. Cal Raleigh greeted him with a broken-bat single to center field that drove in two runs, trimming the Yankees’ lead to 4-2. The Bronx nine were suddenly in a game again.
Bednar buckled down and struck out Julio Rodriguez to strand the tying run on base. Then Ben Rice answered Seattle’s momentum in the top of the ninth with a 427-foot solo home run to right-center field off Cooper Criswell, his first homer of the season, restoring a three-run lead.
Rice, who has reached base safely in each of his first five games and is hitting .412 in the series, kept his tone understated afterward.
“A couple of bounces went my way,” the Yankees baby Bomber said. “I think the quality of the at-bats overall has been good.”
Bednar labors for four-out save on 40 pitches
Even with a three-run cushion, the ninth inning was not clean. Bednar returned to close out the game and Dominic Canzone pulled the Mariners back to within two runs with an RBI single. The Yankees closer had to navigate another threat before finally recording the final out on a Cole Young flyout, collecting his third save of the season.
The closer needed 40 pitches to record four outs, a workload that drew honest acknowledgment from Boone.
“An uncomfortable place to be as a manager, especially at this point of the season,” Boone said. “But what a good job of not giving in.”
The win pushed New York’s record to 5-1. After the Toronto Blue Jays dropped their game Wednesday, the Yankees moved into sole possession of first place in the AL East.
Boone took stock of what his club produced over the full road trip.
“Really good baseball,” the manager said. “Obviously pitching at a really high level. The defense was excellent on the trip overall. Some timely hitting, a couple big homers along the way. Just really good baseball and a good way to open the season and head back home.”
Schlittler, for his part, said the destination is what matters most.
“To take the series here is a good feeling, and we’ll go home confident to play on Friday,” the Yankees star said.
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