NEW YORK – Specializing in devastating late losses and filling up the injured list, these Yankees have also displayed a signature resilient nature.
And Friday night’s peculiar challenge was to quilt together a win by the bullpen.
Well, the stitch-at-a-time formula worked, holding the Mariners in check long enough for the Yankees to figure a path to victory.
As a pinch-hitter, Brett Gardner started a key rally with an eighth-inning walk.
And in the 11th, Gardner’s line single to center off Kenyan Middleton gave the Yankees a 3-2 win before a delirious crowd at Yankee Stadium.
Along the way, Giancarlo Stanton had a redeeming, game-tying single in extra innings and the Yankees used nine pitchers — ending with Albert Abreu — to secure their fourth straight win, the ninth in their last 11 games.
With the Yankees (60-49) an out away from a 10-inning defeat, Stanton’s softly-lined single to center scored Gardner from second base with the tying run.
But ex-Yankees farmhand Erik Swanson rebounded to strike out Joey Gallo, sending it to the 11th inning.
Starting with their free runner at second base in the 10th, J.P. Crawford’s leadoff RBI single off Chad Green gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.
Green had thrown 27 pitches over two innings one night earlier, earning the victory in the Yanks’ 5-3 series-opening win against Seattle.
After being mesmerized by starter Marco Gonzalez, the Yankees broke through in the eighth without a hit.
With the Yankees trailing 1-0, Gardner started the tying rally with a leadoff walk against Diego Castillo, newly a Mariner but an old Yankee rival as the former Tampa Bay Rays’ closer.
Castillo followed by walking DJ LeMahieu and plunking Anthony Rizzo in the leg, loading the bases for Aaron Judge, who drove a sacrifice fly to left.
But with 43,180 fans standing and cheering for the go-ahead run, Stanton tapped into an inning-ending double play and was heavily booed back to the dugout.
In the bottom of the ninth, Gleyber Torres was stranded at second after a one-out double.
Following an intentional walk to Rougned Odor, reliever Drew Steckenrider induced pop outs against Kyle Higashioka and Gardner, sending it into extra innings.
Friday was supposed to be Jordan Montgomery’s turn, coming off last Sunday’s solid no-decision at Miami.
“Great series win in Miami ... let’s keep it rolling back in the Bronx!’’ was the postgame post from Montgomery’s Twitter account, with a photo of him on the mound during the Yankees’ three-game sweep.
Hours later, the lefty tested positive for COVID-19, joining ace Gerrit Cole and starting catcher Gary Sanchez this week on the COVID-19 injury list.
Montgomery’s loss, alone, was a tough break for the Yanks. Over his last five starts — dating to July 8 at Seattle, the lefty had pitched to a 2.22 ERA.
In that span, opponents were slashing just .188/.255/.297 against him.
But due to a woeful lack of run support, Montgomery had posted a 1-2 record in those five starts.
Naturally, with their clocks already set to Montgomery Standard Time, the Yanks’ lineup managed just three hits through 6 2/3 scoreless innings against starter Marco Gonzales.
The left-handed Gonzales mostly kept the Yankees off balance and guessing with his soft assortment of sinkers, curveballs and change-ups.
And the Yanks were left with what-might-have-been thoughts after whiffing on their one chance at Gonzales, letting him off the ropes.
Gonzales walked both Stanton and Gallo to open the second inning, then ran a 3-0 count on Torres.
One pitch away from loading the bases with none out, Gonzales got Torres to pop out on a 3-1 pitch, then retired Odor (fly out) and Higashioka (strikeout) to end the inning.
An old AL West rival of Gonzales from his Texas Rangers days, Odor entered Friday with a .348 batting average against the lefty.
But Odor wound up 0 for 3 against Gonzales, including a seventh-inning strikeout — with Torres stealing second base in the process.
That was Gonzales’s last pitch of the night, exiting with the tying run at second and two out.
In came side-arming veteran reliever Joe Smith, who retired Higashioka on a grounder to third, preserving the 1-0 lead.
