Late run gives Yanks the series win.

Ichiro head to the dugout after scoring the winning run
in the 9th inning.

The true definition of a pitchers duel was on display Sunday in Seattle. Felix Hernandez and David Phelps managed to go toe to toe with both pitcher allowing only one run, but each would end up with the no-decisions as the Yankees were able to pull off a late win and take the series from the Mariners.

The Yankees once again jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off of King Felix in the 2nd inning. Jayson Nix singled to lead off the inning, then a couple batter later, Chris Stewart landed a perfect bunt single to put runners on the corners with only one away.

Brett Gardner followed with a single into center field that scored Nix. Gardner had a great day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three hits coming off of King Felix. Gardner is also the first player this season to have a three-hit game off of Hernandez.

"I saw the ball well off him today. Other days, you don't see it at all," Gardner said. "He's got real good stuff. We took advantage of a couple balls he left up in the zone today, but usually when he's down in the zone, he's tough. It's a big win for us."

Seattle answered back with a run off of Phelps in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Kelly Shoppach doubled to left field, then was driven home a couple batter later when Brendan Ryan single to center field.

From there on out the two starting pitchers would settle into cruise control. Phelps shutdown the Mariners for the next four innings, while Hernandez kept the Yankees bat quiet through the 7th inning.

"Regardless of who I'm pitching against, I'm going to go out and try to put up as many zeros as I can," Phelps said. "It just so happens that if you're facing an ace, you've got to try to keep them in the game a little bit more. He's done it for so long, and he's done it so well, you know a lot of times you might only get one run."

Phelps finished after 6 inning, permitting Seattle to only one run on three hits, while walking three and striking out six. Hernandez went seven innings, surrendering only one run on five hits, while walking two and striking out seven.

"It's impressive," said Brett Gardner. "[Phelps'] pitch count got up a little bit early; he wasn't really pounding the zone like he normally does, so for him to stay in the game as long as he did and keep trading zeros with [Hernandez], it's pretty fun to watch."

With the score still tied in the 9th inning, the Yankees managed to plate a run that would give the Yankees the lead and eventually the win. Ichiro walked to lead off the inning then was pushed to 2nd by a Nix bunt. A couple batter later, Stewart singled into left field, letting Ichiro score.

"It's a huge confidence booster," said Stewart, whose go-ahead hit came off Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina. "Joe felt good about the situation and I felt good going into it. I know I've been seeing good pitches and putting good swings on the ball. Fortunately, I had another one."

Stewart has been hitting the ball really well lately and pickup a couple more hits on Sunday to add to his recent success, and now he's batting .276 this season as the Yankees starting catcher.

"He's been really important. Stewie has done a really good job," Girardi said. "You see the job he does behind the plate. He's gotten on base this year and he's had some big RBIs -- maybe none bigger than this one."

Mariano Rivera gave up a pair of singles in the 9th inning, but that didn't stop him from capturing his 23rd save of the season. David Robertson was credited with the win after tossing a scoreless inning of relief in the 8th inning.

Mariano made what is almost his certainly his last appearance in Seattle. In his career at Safeco Field, Rivera is 37-for-39 in save chances, with his only blown save being a homerun that he gave up to Ichiro in 2007.

"I was looking around. It's my last one," Rivera said. "Usually, I don't do it, but today -- Seattle, I've always had good outings here, good numbers. It's special, I don't know why. We always play good here. I was soaking that in a little bit."

It was a rough day at the plate for the Yankees 3-4-5 hitters. Mark Teixeira, Vernon Wells, and Travis Hafner combined for an 0-for-11 day, with two walks and four strikeouts. All four strikeouts were by Teixeira.

"Every day, it's a different guy," Rivera said of the Yankees success. "That's what we do. It's not just one player here that we're going to rely on. We rely on nine players in the field and the rest on the bench. We're all pulling for the same reason."

The Yankees will continue their 10-game road trip with a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics that starts on Tuesday. CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon will face-off in the series opener at the O.Co Colosium. First pitch in that game is scheduled for 10:05 pm ET.

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