NEW YORK (AP) — Yonder Alonso homered on a 100 mph fastball from demoted closer Aroldis Chapman in the 11th inning, and the Seattle Mariners outpitched the New York Yankees for a 2-1 victory Friday night.
Mike Zunino homered and had three hits for the Mariners, right in the middle of a crowded race for the second AL wild card. They used seven pitchers to hold down the Yankees, who lead the wild-card chase but trail first-place Boston by 4 1/2 games in the AL East.
Alonso entered as a pinch hitter in the ninth and sent a drive to center field with two outs in the 11th against Chapman (4-3), the $86 million reliever who recently lost his job as closer. The struggling lefty was booed again as he walked off the mound after the inning.
Acquired from Oakland this month, Alonso became the third left-handed batter to homer against Chapman in his eight-year career. Just 12 days before, 20-year-old Boston rookie Rafael Devers became the second.
James Pazos (4-4) tossed a perfect inning against his former team and Edwin Diaz got three outs for his 30th save.
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