Seattle Mariners Clobber New York Yankees, Snap 17-Game Losing Streak

"Clobber" might be a little generous. True, the Seattle Mariners beat the New York Yankees 9-2, but their third run involved an error, their next three runs scored on a catchable fly ball, and their eighth run scored when Curtis Granderson lost a fly in the sun. The Mariners didn't exact bust out any whooping sticks.

But what they did was win, and not just win in the Bronx - they won for the first time since July 5, snapping a 17-game losing streak.

It was all set up from the beginning. For their Wednesday matinée, the Mariners sent ace Felix Hernandez to the hill opposite the mysterious Phil Hughes. This was, without doubt, a good matchup. But it was still a matchup that pitted the Mariners' lineup against the Yankees' lineup, so neither side had a huge advantage.

After trading some zeroes, the Mariners struck in the third when Dustin Ackley scored Ichiro on a triple to the gap. The Mariners added another in the fifth when Ackley laced a bases-loaded single to left. Josh Bard was thrown out on the play, but the M's still handed a 2-0 lead to their ace.

It nearly disappeared in the bottom half, when the Yankees scored and then put a pair in scoring position with two outs for Curtis Granderson, but Felix whiffed Granderson with a heater to end the threat.

Then, after a sixth inning that saw each team strand a runner, the Mariners erupted, so to speak. A run scored on a weak Ackley grounder up the middle that neither Robinson Cano nor Derek Jeter could handle cleanly. Then, with the bases loaded, Adam Kennedy struck out, but Mike Carp lifted a deep fly ball to center that sent Granderson racing back. Granderson appeared to have an angle, but the ball bounced off the end of his glove, and Carp made it to third with a three-run triple.

That busted the game open, and six pitches later Carp scored on a ringing double by Franklin Gutierrez. Some more runs were scored, and in the end, it was the Mariners who got to line up and high-five one another, having finished off a 9-2 win.

The Mariners return home to face the Rays on Friday. Now that their historic streak is over, the baseball world may resume not paying them any attention, as usual. The Yankees, meanwhile, will take on the Orioles, and will continue to receive plenty of attention, from now until forever.