NEW YORK — Maybe now you can call them the Comeback Kids.
The Yankees rallied for four runs in the sixth inning with power, opportunity and even some guile Saturday to beat the Mariners, 5-4, at Yankee Stadium.
Two weeks ago, this was the type of game the Yankees would lose.
Coming off the high of a walk-off win on Friday night, the Yankees fell behind by three runs after just two innings. Since the trade deadline, when the Yankees front office invested in them with two lefty hitters, two relievers and a starter, they’ve been rejuvenated.
It was the fifth straight win for the Yankees (61-49) and they clinched the four-game series against the Mariners (58-54), their fourth straight and fifth out of six come-from-behind wins — they also have 31 such wins this season, third in the majors.
Aaron Judge crushed a 421-foot home run off Mariners’ right-hander Chris Flexen in the bottom of the first. The former Mets prospect who went to Korea last year and reinvented himself held the Yankees scoreless for the next five innings before Rougned Odor took advantage of the short porch in right field for a two-run shot. Odor’s first home run since July 25 pulled the Yankees within a run and chased Flexen.
Gleyber Torres, who was out of the starting lineup for rest, pinch hit a long fly ball to right field that Mitch Haniger lost in the sun for a three-base error. Torres scored the tying run on Kyle Higashioka’s pinch-hit ground-rule double. It was Higashioka’s first hit in seven chances as a pinch hitter.
DJ LeMahieu singled and then did some of the Yankees’ best baserunning of the year. With Higashioka on third and running on Anthony Rizzo’s contact, LeMahieu kept the attention of the Mariners first baseman and shortstop with a rundown, and away from Higashioka, who scored before they could get the third out.
The Yankees have had some bad baserunning this year and lead the majors in outs on base this season (41), but that heads-up play gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Andrew Heaney did exactly what he was brought in to do.
No question, it was a rough start to the day. He gave up a two-run homer to Kyle Seager in the first. In the second, he walked in a run and then gave up another on a sacrifice fly.
But on a day after the Yankees used nine pitchers to get through an 11-inning bullpen day win over the Mariners and after they had to put their closer on the injured list, Heaney got himself out of the second and gave the Yankees innings.
After that sacrifice fly to Haniger, Heaney gave the Yanks four scoreless innings to get them into the seventh inning.
The Yankees bullpen, which was fantastic on Friday night, came through again on Saturday. Clay Holmes, who has quietly been terrific since the Yankees acquired him from the Pirates last month, threw 1 1/3 perfect innings. Joely Rodriguez, who was the undercard in the deal the Yankees made to bring in Joey Gallo from the Rangers, faced the dangerous Seager and worked around a two-out single to Tom Murphy to get the ball to Jonathan Loaisiga, who picked up his fourth career save.
