Bronx, NY -- (Sports Network) - Melky Cabrera drove in three runs, including the go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning, boosting the New York Yankees to their sixth straight win, 8-5 over Seattle.

Mariano Rivera threw the ceremonial first pitch of the night at Yankee Stadium and New York's superstar closer shut the door in the ninth inning for his 501st career save. Just two nights after recording the milestone 500th save of his illustrious career in a game against the Mets, Rivera was then called upon for the final inning and retired the side in order for his 19th save of the season.

Alex Rodriguez clubbed a two-run homer for the Yankees, who beat the Mariners in the Bronx for the ninth straight time. Derek Jeter capped the big three-run eighth inning with a two-run single.

"We're playing well, but we're not thinking about what we've done the previous five games," said Jeter. "We're taking it one day at a time. We're pretty good at doing that this year."

Franklin Gutierrez and Kenji Johjima each had three hits and an RBI for the Mariners in the opener of the three-game series. Russell Branyan drove in two runs and Ronny Cedeno homered for Seattle, which lost for just the third time in 10 games.

Mariners starter Brandon Morrow surrendered five hits and three runs -- one earned -- over 4 2/3 innings, while Joba Chamberlain yielded nine hits and three runs over 5 1/3 frames.

Johnny Damon smacked a lead-off ground-rule double to left field in the seventh off Chris Jakubauskas, and two batters later Rodriguez drilled a 2-2 offering over the wall in left field for his 565th career homer. That gave New York a 5-3 lead.

"It feels good. I haven't turned on a mid-90s fastball up and in in a long time," said Rodriguez. "I certainly didn't do it in the stretch where I struggled for a while."

The Mariners came right back to tie the game as consecutive singles from Gutierrez, Chris Woodward and Johjima to start the eighth against Brian Bruney (3-0) made it a one-run margin. Cedeno's sacrifice bunt and an Ichiro Suzuki intentional walk came prior to Branyan's sacrifice fly to left field. Jose Lopez grounded into a force play to keep the game tied.

Sean White (2-1) was on the mound for the bottom of the eighth, and he surrendered an immediate double to Hideki Matsui. Nick Swisher then bunted for a hit when White stumbled a bit trying to get the ball on the third-base side. Cabrera then doubled to the gap in right-center field, scoring pinch-runner Brett Gardner. Jeter then lined a base hit up the middle.

The start of the game was delayed nearly an hour due to rain, and the Yankees jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada singled to start the frame. Matsui then chopped a ball to third base, but Woodward's throw bounced and was wild to first, allowing the initial run to score. Two batters later, Cabrera lifted a sacrifice fly to center.

Cedeno homered to left to begin the third, but the Yankees expanded the lead to 3-1 in the fourth as Cano scored on Cabrera fielder's choice grounder.

The Mariners manufactured a pair of runs in the fifth, thanks mostly to the speed of Suzuki, to even the contest. He legged out an infield hit on a ball that went under the glove of Chamberlain, then stole second and third before coming home on Branyan's single to right. Lopez reached first on a force play, stole second and later scored on a Gutierrez bloop hit to right-center field.

"Offensive if you said we would have scored five runs tonight, I would have said we'd win this ball game," said Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu. "It's a few games where the offense shines and obviously we end up giving up eight runs."

Game Notes

Suzuki had three steals, raising his total to 16 this season...Both teams made roster moves prior to the game. The Yankees acquired utilityman Eric Hinske and cash considerations from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a pair of minor leaguers - pitcher Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer...The Mariners announced third baseman Adrian Beltre underwent surgery Tuesday to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder. He was also put on the 15- day DL. The Mariners also selected the contract of outfielder Ryan Langerhans from Triple-A Tacoma, and announced catcher Jamie Burke cleared waivers and was sent outright to Tacoma...It was Rodriguez's 30th career homer against the Mariners, his former club...Branyan has a 10-game hitting streak...Suzuki has a hit in 54 of his last 57 games...Including the sixth inning when Joe Girardi was ejected on June 24 at Atlanta, the Yankees have scored 45 runs in their last 49 frames, outscoring opponents 45-18 over the stretch...Suzuki has a 12-game hitting streak and is batting .463 (25-for-54) with eight multi-hit contests over the stretch.