Fri May 2 22:33:59 2008

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Wang is wonderful as Yankees crush M's to end skid

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Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - Chien-Ming Wang hurled six solid innings, and Melky Cabrera added a two-run double as New York downed Seattle, 5-1, in the opener of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.

Wang (6-0) allowed just one run on three hits to become the American League's first six-game winner for the Yankees, who snapped a three-game skid. The Taiwanese star is also a perfect 7-0 against the Mariners in seven career starts.

Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera finished things with an inning of scoreless relief apiece.

Rivera has not given up a run in 12 innings pitched this season.

Hideki Matsui, Morgan Ensberg and Jose Molina each drove in a run for New York.

Erik Bedard (2-1) was the hard-luck loser for the Mariners, who committed four errors in the game and have lost three straight contests. The Seattle ace surrendered just three runs -- one earned -- on four hits, while walking just one and fanning six.

Raul Ibanez was 1-for-4 and had the only RBI for Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-4 and had three stolen bases.

The Yankees jumped on top with a run in the first. Derek Jeter reached on a Yuniesky Betancourt error, advanced to second when Bobby Abreu singled and came around to score when Matsui came up with a two-out hit to the opposite field.

New York added two more runs in the second thanks to some sloppy Mariners defense. Ensberg reached when Adrian Beltre flubbed his grounder to third and Yankees manager Joe Girardi then put on a hit-and-run with Molina. The catcher struck out swinging and the M's had Ensberg dead to rights at second but Jose Lopez dropped the throw. Alberto Gonzalez then followed with a single up the middle before Cabrera laced a two-run double to left.

The Mariners finally scratched out a run against Wang in the sixth. Suzuki led off by singling up the middle and swiped both second and third before Ibanez plated him with a ground ball to second.

The Yankees, who hadn't recorded a hit since the second inning, put things away with a pair of runs in the eighth off the Seattle bullpen. Abreu greeted Ryan Rowland-Smith with a single up the middle and moved to second on Shelley Duncan's base hit to left. After Matsui fanned, Jason Giambi walked to load the bases.

The Mariners replaced Rowland-Smith with Sean Green but Ensberg came through with an RBI single to left and Molina followed with a long sacrifice fly to left-center.

Game Notes

The Yankees announced during the game that they exceeded four million tickets sold for the 2008 season, becoming the first franchise in Major League Baseball history to reach the total in four consecutive years (2005-08)... Former Yankees All-Star Bobby Murcer returned to the broadcast booth for the first time since undergoing a brain biopsy he had in early March...New York catcher Jorge Posada expects to miss at least five weeks because of an injured right shoulder. Posada has been bothered by the injury for the majority of the season, complaining of a "dead" feeling in his arm. He underwent an MRI earlier, which was diagnosed as a strain, but with no serious structural damage...Left-handed hitters are just 1-for-18 against Rivera this season...The Yankees improved to 27-7 when Wang starts following a loss.