Yankees lose to Mariners, Brett Gardner ejected | Rapid reaction

The Yankees fell to the Mariners, 3-2, thanks to Dellin Betances blowing it in the eighth inning. Brett Gardner got thrown out in the ninth inning.

SEATTLE — The throw came up short.

So did the Yankees.

A better toss would have beaten Mitch Hanigar at the plate. But it was just off and the Mariners were able to notch a eighth-inning go-ahead run in a 3-2 win over the Mariners at Safeco Field on Sunday.

Dellin Betances earned the loss, asked to protect a tied game and unable to repeat the escape act he pulled the day before.

On Saturday, Betances worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam to nail the save. On Sunday? He walked the leadoff hitter Hanigar, who stole second base on backup catcher Austin Romine. A sacrifice bunt moved Hanigar to third before Robinson Cano, with the infield in and one out, hit a broken-bat grounder at shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.

Hechavarria’s throw was just wide of Romine, who had to bring it back to the front of the plate for the tag. Hanigar’s nifty one-handed slide evaded him and won it for Seattle.

It negated a five-inning, two run performance from CC Sabathia. Seattle didn’t score off him again after a two-run first inning.

Brett Gardner was tossed for arguing balls and strikes after he struck out for the second out of the ninth inning.

Plate umpire Jeremie Rehak got a face full of an arguing Gardner afterward. Manager Aaron Boone got between Gardner and Rehak to diffuse things.

What it means

The Yankees’ snapped their two-game winning streak. They have won four of their last 10 games.

With the A’s beating the Rangers in Oakland, the Yankees’ lead for the top spot in the American League Wild Card shrunk to 2 1/2 games.

Up and down

The Yankees took an early lead, lost it and then tied things up in the fourth.

After Giancarlo Stanton’s one-out double in the first, Miguel Andujar immediately followed up with one, scoring Stanton to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Stanton’s knock was of the bloop variety and should have been caught whereas Andujar’s was punished.

But in the next inning, Sabathia struggled big-time. Following two quick outs, the Mariners strung four straight base hits off him, bringing in a pair of runs to make it 2-1 Seattle. Sabathia frequently missed his spots, leaving the ball over the plate for Mariners hitters to punish. Ryon Healy and Cameron Maybin were each responsible for the RBI singles.

The Yankees battled back. In the fourth inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to three straight hits from Neil Walker, Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres.

With two outs, Andrew McCutchen brought in the only run they’d get. He worked a full count against Ramirez, whose low-and-away curveball gave McCutchen a walk and scored Walker to tie the game at 2-all. Giancarlo Stanton grounded out to second base to end it.

Injury report

Shortstop Didi Gregorius (bruised left heel) had the day off. He came off the disabled list Friday and played essentially half-games then and Saturday. Boone said he expects Gregorius to be ready to play every day starting Monday.

Aaron Judge (fractured right wrist) could graduate to on-field batting practice in Minnesota, Boone said.

Next

Yankees lefty J.A. Happ (14-6, 3.90 ERA) vs. Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (7-12, 3.74 ERA) at 8:10 p.m. EST Monday in Minnesota.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.