g123 | what a difference a day makes

Mariners 4 | Yankees 9

And it definitely wasn't Jason Vargas's day...
It was the "bookends" that were tough ~ he threw 27 pitches and gave up 4 runs in the 1st and ran out of gas in the 7th ~ but the middle innings were quite a sight to behold ... from the 2nd through the 6th he only allowed one single to the 15th batter he faced.  Needless to say, I was quite impressed with how he settled down and mowed 'em down.  Jason is one cool cucumber, no matter the situation or opponent.

Now, as for his relief...
I think there may have been better options than Jamey Wright with runners at 1st and 3rd with one out in a tie game - but that's just me.

Who are these guys and what have you done with the "light" hitting Mariners?!?
M's have now hit TEN homers in their last FIVE games.  Ichiro hit TWO homers in this game!  Now, the fact that Russell hit a moonshot was not surprising (he always hit's 'em high) but this one was epic - supposedly the longest homer ever in the "new" Yankee Stadium - the first ever in the 4th deck (see just how high here)

Unfortunately, as exciting as the power surge was, 't wasn't enough to garner a win.

Oh, and Casey's "errorless streak" was broken.

Rubber game of the match tomorrow ~ CC vs. Luke