Crawford's status casts shadow over Mariners' loss

NEW YORK -- The agitated unease in J.P. Crawford’s voice loomed larger than the Mariners’ 3-1 defeat to the Yankees on Tuesday after Seattle’s shortstop exited with a right shoulder contusion in the middle of the third inning. But neither he or the club want to mount more concern over his health until he undergoes an MRI on Wednesday.

“There are certain times where you really suck it up and try to stay in the game, but your body tells you otherwise sometimes, and that's what sucks,” Crawford said. “I never want to come out of the freaking game. I want to be in there every day.”

Crawford’s early exit -- which occurred after colliding with Harrison Bader after New York’s center fielder stole second base in the second inning -- was the most pressing moment on a frustrating night at Yankee Stadium.

The other developments to begin this significant road trip against teams directly ahead of the Mariners in the American League standings were more in line with the trajectory of a season that has featured one step forward and another step back, the latest episode dropping Seattle back under .500 (35-36).

Early on, starter George Kirby labored when returning to the venue where he spent countless summer nights as a kid. Yet, after falling behind three runs in the first two frames, the Rye, N.Y., native was scoreless the rest of the way and cleared the seventh. But Kirby’s mid-game adjustments weren’t enough to overcome a gem from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who only worked himself into traffic thrice and whose only blemish was a two-out RBI double from Jarred Kelenic in the sixth.

Cole, who the Mariners ambushed for six runs in the first inning in their last matchup in the Bronx, surrendered just three hits beyond Kelenic’s double, with one walk and eight strikeouts. The Yankees, who are without reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, were 7-24 when scoring three or fewer entering play, but they’re now 7-0 when Cole starts following a loss.

Seattle had two on against the five-time All-Star in the second and fifth but left those runners stranded. They went 1-2-3 in the first, third, fourth and seventh. And his final batter before stretch time, José Caballero, generated a stir when again attempting to use the pitch timer to his advantage and not make eye contact with Cole before the required eight-second mark.

Cole eventually won the six-pitch battle with a strikeout, after which he wagged his right index finger toward the Mariners’ dugout, which he said postgame was towards manager Scott Servais and not Caballero.

“He didn't like the way I was manipulating the pitch clock, but he just got excited,” Caballero said. “So that's good. Like I always say, the rules are there for all of us, and I just had to be ready at eight seconds and that's what I'm doing. That's my routine. I’m just going to continue doing what I feel good doing, and I hope they get used to it, you know? Like I always say, I'm battling against him and he's battling against me and he won. He can celebrate."

Kirby gave up eight hits, including seven on his two- and four-seam fastballs combined -- a career high, and a mark reflective of the Yanks’ attack-heavy approach against the second-year righty after he mowed them down for eight scoreless innings on May 31 in Seattle.

The Yanks had an average exit velocity of 93.9 mph on the two-seamer and 98.1 mph on the four-seamer, including a Statcast-projected 432-foot two-run homer from Billy McKinney. Kirby also gave up a double to Anthony Rizzo that Teoscar Hernández corralled then lost when jumping at the wall, which led to a run.

Needing to adjust, by the end of the night, Kirby had thrown his slider (35% usage) more than any pitch, another career first for any outing.

“I'm not walking people, and it's probably their best bet to hunt a heater somewhere in the zone,” Kirby said. “But yeah, I'm going to be more aware of that and talk with [catchers] Cal [Raleigh] and [Tom] Murphy and change gameplans when needed.”

Aside from Kirby’s rebound not being enough and Caballero not getting the best of Cole, the Mariners will now turn their attention to Crawford, arguably their most consistent hitter and best defender.

Crawford has been Seattle’s primary leadoff batter since May 10, hitting .239/.349/.349 (.698 OPS) for the season, good for 108 wRC+ (league average is 100). Any missed time would be a blow to the Mariners’ hopes of climbing past .500 in a critical stretch of games leading into the All-Star break.