Former Seattle teammates combine to lift the Yankees over the Mariners, 6-2

A decade ago, Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki watched Seattle teammate Freddy Garcia establish himself as a big winner with a big fastball.

On Sunday, with the trio now dressed in Yankees pinstripes, Garcia won yet again with a much different repertoire.

Garcia posted his 150th career victory while Ibanez homered and drove in three runs as New York wrapped up a long and losing homestand by beating the Mariners, 6-2.

"For me, it's another win," Garcia said. "Hopefully, more are coming."

Garcia (5-5) hung around for five innings on a sticky afternoon and preserved a one-run edge with his final pitch, retiring Kyle Seager with two runners on base.

A two-time All-Star with the Mariners, the 35-year-old Garcia has since bounced all over the majors. In and out of the rotation this season, he ended a string of three straight losing starts and improved to 150-100.

Garcia wins these days with guile instead of gas. He got the young Mariners hitters to chase off-speed pitches, working around five hits and four walks.

"He's had to reinvent himself," Ibanez said. "It's really his will and determination that's made him great."

Suzuki has seen the transformation, too.

"Back in 2001, he was throwing 95, 96 (mph)," Suzuki said through a translator. "The pitchers who can make that adjustment are going to be successful. Some can't."

Michael Saunders doubled off Garcia for Seattle's lone extra-base hit.

"He moves the ball in and out and he's got that splitty and big curveball, slider. He's got a bunch of pitches," Saunders said.

The AL East-leading Yankees won for only the sixth time in 16 games. They went 4-5 against Boston, Baltimore and Seattle on their longest stay in the Bronx so far this season. On Monday night, they'll face Tigers ace Justin Verlander in Detroit.

Garcia is the top winner in major league history among pitchers born in Venezuela. Johan Santana is next with 139 and Seattle star Felix Hernandez is farther down with 95.

"I still have the record," Garcia kidded.

Boone Logan, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano combined for four innings of hitless relief.

"We kind of labored through that game there," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "We still need to get better with our pitch selection."

Ibanez hit his 15th homer in the fifth, a solo drive off Hisashi Iwakuma (2-3) that put the Yankees ahead 4-2. Ibanez delivered again in the sixth with a two-out, two-run single off Oliver Perez with the bases loaded.

Suzuki continued to be a one-hit wonder.

The Yankees newcomer extended his hitting streak to 12 games, all since being traded from Seattle to New York, when his routine fly got lost in the sun and fell for a seventh-inning double.

Suzuki has gotten exactly one hit in each of those 12 games - Willy Aybar was the last big leaguer with such an odd streak, getting a single hit in 13 straight for the Dodgers in 2006, STATS LLC said.

Suzuki said he was getting more comfortable with his surroundings. That includes dealing with a tough glare in the outfield, and he looked into the sun for a stumbling catch.

"If it was getting harder and harder every day, I'm not worthy of wearing the Yankee uniform," he said.

Jesus Montero hit a pair of RBI singles for the short-handed Mariners, who had won eight of nine. Shortstop Brendan Ryan was out a day after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow. Mike Carp singled home the game's only run on Saturday, then went to California after the game for the birth of his daughter.

(China Daily 08/07/2012 page9)