NEW YORK _ They'd dealt with it all. The hour-plus rain delay, the deflating defensive missteps, the two late, unearned runs, and the missed scoring chances.
There was every reason why the Yankees should have lost on Tuesday night, and two very good reasons they didn't: Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu.
Down by two with one out in the ninth, Urshela blasted Anthony Swarzak's dead-red, 0-and-2 fastball to center field for a two-run, game-tying homer. Cameron Maybin singled, stole second and then, with two outs, LeMahieu singled to right for the walk-off, 5-4 win at Yankee Stadium.
It was a gleeful end to a mostly frustrating night.
Masahiro Tanaka, looking for a bounce back start, was betrayed first by his splitter and then by his defense.
That's what brought him to where he was in the fourth inning, screaming on the mound after the second of three gaffes behind him, all involving Clint Frazier. Tanaka, coming off a few rough outings, gamely battled the Mariners despite not nearly having his best stuff Tuesday, but it wasn't quite enough for what would have been his third win of the year.
The game was delayed at 8:31 p.m. for one hour and 12 minutes in the seventh, with the Mariners up 2-1, at which point the Yankees put runners on the corners with one out, off reliever Cory Gearrin. Cameron Maybin, though, hit a comebacker for an inning-ending double play. The Mariners tacked on two unearned runs in the eighth, courtesy of an error by Gio Urshela. The Yankees got one back in the bottom of the eighth, when Brett Gardner scored on a wild pitch.
As for Tanaka, Tuesday was frustrating, though not disastrous.
After struggling in three of his previous four starts, and missing that effective splitter for most of them, Tanaka again struggled to find his signature pitch, and pretty much abandoned it before using it to let up a solo home run to Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth.
Tanaka did manage to use his slider and sinker to decent affect, but that didn't stop the Mariners from capitalizing in the second on a walk and that first outfield misplay.
Tanaka walked Domingo Santana to lead off the inning and Jay Bruce laced a line drive to center. It dropped in and was missed on the bounce by Frazier, allowing it to bound to the wall and land runners on second and third. Santana was eventually cut down at the plate, but Bruce later scored on a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.
Gardner scored on a ground out in the third, but then came the fourth, and Tanaka's uncharacteristic show of frustration. Bruce was again in the middle of it.
With one on and one out, Bruce hit a high fly ball that took its sweet time coming down, and when it finally did, Frazier and Gardner each appeared to think the other was going to grab it. It fell between them for a "single" as Tanaka screamed on the mound. He got the next two outs, including another tricky pop-out to end the threat. As three players circled, Urshela eventually took control and made the grab near home plate.
The Mariners took the lead on Encarnacion's homer in the sixth, though Tanaka had no one to blame for that run but himself. Encarnacion deposited a splitter a few rows into the seats in left for a 2-1 lead and his 11th homer.
Tanaka's night got a little bit worse in the seventh, when Beckham hit a fly ball to Frazier in right, and it tipped off the lip of Frazier's glove. Beckham got to second, and Tanaka crouched on the mound as he faced the outfield. He got the next two outs without further damage.
Rain intensified and play was delayed, ending his night. He threw 95 pitches, 61 for strikes. He allowed two runs, both earned, five hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.
All told, it was an improvement for Tanaka, who had a 6.10 ERA in his previous four starts. Before the game, Aaron Boone said he believed he was close to finally figuring it all out, particularly that splitter, which he threw only eight times Tuesday.
