Yankees beat Mariners, but get a scare By PETER ABRAHAM THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: September 5, 2007) NEW YORK - The Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 12-3 last night, a real laugher. Not so much. One of the most crucial victories of the season was nearly the most costly as Alex Rodriguez and Chien-Ming Wang left the game with injuries that proved to be far less serious than they first appeared. So while the Yankees rebuilt their lead to two games in the American League wild-card race, it nearly came at the expense of their best hitter and their best pitcher. "Stuff like that scares you," Johnny Damon said. The crowd of 52,487 fell silent in the seventh inning when Rodriguez slid into third base and 230-pound Adrian Beltre fell on his right leg. Rodriguez rolled over on his back and pulled his leg to his chest. "I knew it would take a long time for me to get to third base and I didn't want any bad news when I got there," manager Joe Torre said. "When I saw him get up on his knees it made me feel better. But that was scary because he went right down." Rodriguez stayed in the game and scored. But he was pulled out before the next inning and sent for X-rays that proved negative. "It's a little sore right now," said Rodriguez, who earlier into the game hit a majestic home run into the upper deck in left field. "I was a little scared." Rodriguez, who now has 46 homers and 131 RBI, hopes to play in the series finale tonight. He left the clubhouse without a limp. "I'll see how I wake up in the morning," he said. The Yankees sent 12 batters to the plate in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs on eight hits. Wang watched the parade from the dugout and when he went back out to the mound, had trouble throwing because of tightness in his lower back. After two fastballs that didn't get over 90 mph, catcher Jorge Posada looked in the dugout, and pitching coach Ron Guidry went to the mound. After a brief delay and some apparent confusion, Wang was taken out of the game. Despite the long wait, the Yankees sent Wang back out because he had thrown only 84 pitches and isn't scheduled to pitch again until next Tuesday. "I'm fine," said Wang, who was treated with ice after the game. "It doesn't hurt now." Said Posada: "I wanted to make sure he was OK. We can't afford to lose that guy. We need him at 100 percent for what we have coming up." Wang (17-6) allowed one run on five hits in his 7 1/3 innings, using his sinker to get 17 outs on groundballs. He is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his last four starts and could challenge for the Cy Young Award, as he and Boston's Josh Beckett lead the majors in victories. "He has been great," Torre said. "He gave us exactly what we needed." Wang is 8-2 in 11 starts following a loss. Such was the case last night, as the Yankees had dropped three of four and on Monday lost Roger Clemens for at least one start with an elbow injury. Wang turned that momentum, taking a four-hit shutout into the seventh inning. "I'm more confident now. I'm letting the pitches work," said Wang, who is 6-0 with a 2.51 ERA in six career starts against Seattle. "It's much better." Horacio Ramirez (8-5) and five relievers allowed 20 hits as the Yankees broke out of a collective slump and sent Seattle to its 10th loss in 11 games. Posada was 4 for 4 with two homers, two RBI and four runs scored. He is hitting .337 with 18 homers and 80 RBI. Outside of Rodriguez, he has been the team's most valuable player. "It's remarkable for a catcher in this day and age to put those numbers up," Torre said. Robinson Cano added four hits and three RBI, while Bobby Abreu was 4 for 5 with a homer and a double. Wilson Betemit had two hits and one RBI. Reach Peter Abraham at [email protected] and read his Yankees blog at yankees.lohudblogs.com. http://tinyurl.com/3dxp32 --

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