Field Level Media
Jun 21, 2023
Rookie Jhony Brito pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the longest start of his career and the host New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Wednesday night.
The Yankees improved to 6-8 since losing Aaron Judge due to a bruised right toe. New York won a series for the first time since taking two of three over the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 2-4 when Judge was injured crashing into the right-field wall tracking down J.D. Martinez's flyball.
Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney homered off Seattle's Luis Castillo (4-6) as the Yankees also won consecutive games for the first time since losing Judge. Rookie Anthony Volpe also connected in the seventh.
Brito (4-3) allowed a single to Jose Caballero to open the game and retired the next 12 hitters before Jarred Kelenic opened the fifth with a base hit. In his first start since May 20, Brito struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 81 pitches for strikes.
Jimmy Cordero followed Brito and got the next four outs. Wandy Peralta allowed Dylan Moore's pinch-hit homer in the eighth and Michael King put two on in the ninth before Tommy Kahnle recorded his sixth career save after allowing Kelenic's sacrifice fly.
Castillo, whom the Yankees tried to acquire at last year's deadline from the Cincinnati Reds, allowed three runs on four hits in five innings for his fourth straight loss. Castillo issued four walks and struck out three in a 103-pitch outing.
Besides homering, Bauers made a leaping catch in front of the right-field wall for the final out of the first, preventing Teoscar Hernandez from a possible double.
After Volpe barely missed a homer and worked out a walk, Bauers lifted a fastball into the right-center field seats for his sixth homer to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the third.
McKinney homered for the second straight game when he reached the second deck in right field by hammering a full-count fastball in the fourth.
The Mariners played without regular leadoff man J.P. Crawford, who sat out with a bruised right shoulder after getting hurt in the second inning on Tuesday.
--Field Level Media