Minus Lee, pen exposed in loss

SEATTLE – For five dazzling innings, it was as if Cliff Lee hadn’t been traded and was out there for the Mariners throwing right-handed.

Lee’s emergency replacement, David Pauley, had retired his last 13 batters Friday night to keep the Mariners in a one-run game. But then reality set in on the now Lee-less Mariners as the visiting New York Yankees exploded for four sixth-inning runs, two on a triple by Robinson Cano, to send Seattle to a 6-1 defeat.

An error by third baseman Jose Lopez in that sixth inning put two on with none out and finished Pauley’s night. Chad Cordero came on, allowed a sacrifice fly, the triple and a run-scoring single to bury the Mariners for good.

Mark Teixeira had hit a solo home run in the first inning off Pauley, called on to replace Lee after his trade to the Texas Rangers earlier in the day. But after a single by Alex Rodriguez, Pauley kept his team in a 1-0 game, as 39,365 fans at Safeco Field waited to see whether the Mariners could break through against Yankees starter Phil Hughes.

But after pummeling Hughes in New York last week, the Mariners couldn’t get to him this time until it was too late. Russell Branyan went down swinging to end the third inning with runners at second and third, and the Mariners didn’t get on the board until a Lopez double in the sixth, trailing 5-0.

Teixeira later added another solo homer, in the ninth off Luke French, called up from Triple-A earlier in the day, to complete the rout.

The loss was the fifth straight by the Mariners, who have dropped eight of their last nine to fall a season-worst 18 games under .500. It also reflected the reality the Mariners now face in the second half of the season.

Not only must Seattle deal with the loss of half of its potent 1-2 combo of Lee and Felix Hernandez, but it must do so at a time the bullpen is going through its worst stretch of the season.

The relief corps had already been diminished by the loss of Mark Lowe (part of Friday’s trade to Texas) to a back injury. Brandon League and David Aardsma have struggled of late, while the rest of the bullpen has looked patchwork in the wake of injuries to Lowe and Shawn Kelley. French was called up to add bullpen depth after Pauley was forced into a starting role, but getting through nine innings in one piece could be a challenge for this pitching staff the rest of the way.

Notes

New York has won 12 of 15 away from Yankee Stadium. … Pauley is 0-4 in his career as a starter, with three of the losses coming against the Yankees. … Pitcher Erik Bedard will play catch today and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday barring problems with his left shoulder. He was scratched Tuesday after he said his shoulder felt stiff. It would have been Bedard’s first big-league game since surgery on the shoulder last August. … Milton Bradley is expected to play tonight, manager Don Wakamatsu said, after missing a week because of a sore right knee. … The Mariners will need to make another roster move today to clear a spot for Justin Smoak, acquired in the Lee trade.

Yankees 6, Mariners 1