Cano wants to return to Mariners' lineup against Yankees (Aug 26, 2017)

NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano did not hear the booing he usually gets at Yankee Stadium on Friday night because he was recovering from a minor left hamstring injury.

After getting treatment and striking out as a pinch hitter in the series opener, Cano hopes to be in the lineup Saturday afternoon when the Seattle Mariners continue a three-game series with the New York Yankees.

Since leaving New York after the 2013 season for a 10-year contract with Seattle, Cano has often heard boos in each of his 10 games in New York as a visitor. In those games, he is batting .278 (10-for-36) with two homers and seven RBIs.

Cano exited Wednesday's game in Atlanta after hitting a double in the third inning. He underwent an MRI during the off-day Thursday that showed mild inflammation.

If Cano does play, he will be looking to add to his season totals of .277, 19 homers and 78 RBIs in 117 games. Cano also is hot of late as he was hitting .321 during a modest seven-game hitting streak before facing Dellin Betances Friday and .339 (19-for-57) in his last 15 games since Aug. 9.

"Hopefully it isn't something that's going to slow him down a ton," Seattle manager Scott Servais said Friday afternoon. "We need his bat in the lineup. He's a big part of what we do offensively."

Cano will be rejoining a lineup that did just enough to win for the seventh time in nine games Friday. Yonder Alonso hit a two-out tiebreaking homer off Aroldis Chapman in the 11th inning to lifting the Mariners to a 2-1 win.

Alonso has been as hot as Cano of late while hitting .302 since being obtained from Oakland on Aug. 8. He is hitting .385 (15-for-39) with two homers and nine RBIs in his last 11 games.

"It's a lot of fun," Alonso said. "We've got a group of guys that come in here every day and battle. They're professionals. Any chance you can do anything to provide for the team for a win, it's a plus. That's my goal."

The Yankees will be hoping to avoid a third straight frustrating experience. After Thursday's wild brawl with the Detroit Tigers that resulted in a four-game suspension for Gary Sanchez and two games for Austin Romine, the series opener was disappointing in a different way.

New York left the bases loaded three times, doing so in the third and fourth against Ariel Miranda and in the eighth against Nick Vincent. The Yankees were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13.

"When you look at it, it's going to come down to the blown chances early in that game," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Compounding matters is the continued struggles of Chapman. Until Aug. 13, the hard-throwing left-handed reliever had only allowed one homer to a left-handed hitter.

"It's frustrating for Chappy, it's frustrating for us, we're trying to get it right," Girardi said. "It's just difficult right now."

Since then, he has allowed two, one to Boston's Rafael Devers on a 103 mph fastball and the other to Alonso on a 100 mph fastball. He is no longer the closer and has allowed seven earned runs in his last six outings.

Cano and the Mariners will be facing a pitcher they own some familiarity with in Sonny Gray. Cano is 7-for-24 with two homers and four RBIs against Gray though most of it was achieved in 2014 when the second baseman was 5-for-15.

Gray is 4-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 10 career starts against the Mariners. He last faced Seattle on May 3, 2016, in Oakland when Cano hit a solo homer and the Mariners tagged him for seven runs and 11 hits in seven innings.

The right-hander is 1-3 with a 3.13 ERA in four starts since being acquired from Oakland on July 31. In the three losses, the Yankees have totaled two runs.

Gray's last outing was Sunday's 5-1 loss at Boston when he allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings. The two runs occurred on a triple by Jackie Bradley Jr. in the second inning. Gray is hoping to avoid making a similar mistake.

Yovani Gallardo makes his 21st start for the Mariners. As a starting pitcher this season, Gallardo is 4-9 with a 6.28 ERA.

One of Gallardo's better starts occurred against the Yankees on July 23 when he took a no-decision in a 6-4 loss at Seattle after allowing three runs and five hits in five innings.

Gallardo is 2-3 with a 6.32 ERA in seven starts at Yankee Stadium.

The right-hander last pitched in Sunday's 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay when he allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. While he pitched past the sixth inning for the first time since June 7, Gallardo gave up two homers.

He gave up three to the Yankees last month and has allowed 10 in his last six outings after allowing homers to Kevin Kiermaier and Adeiny Hechavarria on Sunday.