The best efforts of one former New York Yankees prospect could not help the Seattle Mariners end their current road skid.

Another is ready to give it a shot.

Ex-Yankee Hector Noesi aims to earn his first win away from home and help the Mariners avoid an eighth straight road loss Saturday against the Yankees.

Catcher Jesus Montero, who had four homers and 13 RBIs in 19 regular season and playoff games with New York in 2011, hit one of Seattle’s two home runs in Friday’s 6-2 series-opening loss. The Yankees dealt Montero and Noesi to Seattle in a four-player offseason trade that brought All-Star pitcher Michael Pineda – now out for the season with a shoulder injury – to New York.

Montero is batting .267 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 30 games, but his solo shot Friday is his only hit in eight at-bats over his last three contests.

Noesi (2-3, 6.30 ERA), who went 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 30 games – two starts – for the Yankees during his 2011 rookie season, has struggled with consistency in Seattle. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 9.22 ERA in three road starts, but is looking forward to taking the mound in the Bronx, where he went 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 14 pearances – one start – for the Yankees in 2011.

“It’s not like I’m really excited to come back because now I play for Seattle,” Noesi told the Mariners’ official website. “But (I’m) kind of a little excited.”

Noesi allowed a solo home run and three other hits Sunday while striking out five in seven innings of a 5-2 home win over major league-worst Minnesota.

“I felt like he just continued what we’d seen the last couple starts, doing a good job commanding his fastball, reaching out front and really finishing off his pitches and using all his secondary stuff,” manager Eric Wedge said.

Noesi will now try to help Seattle (15-19) end its longest losing streak away from home since a 13-game road skid that concluded with a 9-2 win at Yankee Stadium last July 27 – a victory that also snped a 17-game overall losing streak.

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano had four hits Friday, improving to 11 for 21 with seven RBIs in his last five games against the Mariners. He’s batting .444 with eight RBIs in his last nine contests overall.

Former Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer for New York in the series opener, giving him three home runs and six RBIs over his last three games.

Seeking their sixth win in eight games, the Yankees (18-14) hope scheduled starter Phil Hughes (2-4, 6.67) can build on his longest outing – and likely his best – of 2012.

The right-hander, who had allowed eight runs over 8 1-3 innings while losing his previous two starts, yielded three runs and struck out seven in 6 2-3 innings of a 10-4 victory at Kansas City on Sunday.

It marked only the second time Hughes allowed three runs or fewer this season, and the first time he lasted through the sixth inning. The effort was probably enough keep him in the rotation even after Andy Petttitte’s scheduled return to the mound Sunday.

“If I continue to pitch well and throw well, I’m sure I’ll gain more trust,” Hughes told the Yankees’ official website. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Hughes is 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in five career starts versus Seattle.

SEATTLE () — Consider the Detroit Tigers thrilled to be done with seeing Seattle for the remainder of the 2012 season. Whether it was back in Detroit or out in the Pacific Northwest, the Tigers could not solve the Mariners.

John Jaso got the best of Detroit’s bullpen for the second time in three games with a RBI single to score Michael Saunders with the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, and the Mariners beat the Tigers 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Seattle took five of six from the Tigers this season, including a three-game sweep in Detroit. Even the one game Detroit pulled out — a 6-4 win on Tuesday night — came down to the final at-bat and needed Don Kelly’s catch as he crashed into the stands to end the game with the bases loaded.

At the rate it was going, the Tigers are fortunate they were scheduled just six games against Seattle this season. It helped that Seattle caught Detroit at a time when the Tigers’ potentially potent offense is scuffling.

“It’s pretty much a broken record now, we’re just not scoring any runs and that was the case tonight,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “I don’t think we were bad at swinging the bat at pitches tonight, we just didn’t center the ball very good. Throughout the lineup tonight we just didn’t do much.”

And it’s Detroit’s best players that are in a funk. Miguel Cabrera was 0 for 13 in the three-game series in Seattle. Delmon Young was 2 for 11. Prince Fielder, who homered Tuesday night, was hitless on Wednesday in three at-bats.

Detroit’s only run off Seattle starter Jason Vargas came in the sixth when Gerald Laird led off with a double to deep left-center. Danny Worth attempted twice to get a bunt down and failed, only to sl a 1-2 pitch from Vargas into right for a single, and put runners on the corners. Austin Jackson followed with a fly ball to center deep enough for the lumbering Laird to score easily from third. Brennan Boesch had a broken-bat single to keep the rally going, but Cabrera’s one-hop smash was gloved by Kyle Seager at second and started an inning-ending double play.

Otherwise the hits were scares as Vargas cruised through eight innings, throwing just 90 pitches and striking out six. Outside of the sixth, Vargas allowed just a single to Jhonny Peralta in the third and single to Young in the fifth.

“We are just missing that one hit. We’re getting some guys on, but we can’t get that one big hit to get us going,” Laird said.

Even though Vargas was rolling, Seattle manager Eric Wedge went to closer Brandon League in the ninth. League immediately fell behind Jackson 3-0 and walked him on a 3-2 pitch. However, Jackson was quickly erased when shortstop Brendan Ryan made his third strong defensive play in the game, this one starting a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Boesch. League then got Cabrera to end it for his eighth save in 10 chances this season.

Earlier in the game, Ryan had made a barehanded grab and throw to get Jackson and stole a base hit from Fielder leading off the seventh.

“Brendan Ryan had an unbelievable game,” Wedge said. “We talk about it time and time again, that’s why we’re really working to try and get his bat going because he is so valuable to us.”

Seattle didn’t get its first hit off Detroit starter Drew Smyly until one out in the fourth inning when Ichiro Suzuki softly served a single into left-center field. Suzuki stole second and scored when Seager lined Smyly’s pitch off the wall down the right-field line, missing a home run by just a couple of feet. It was Seager’s ninth RBI during the Mariners’ six-game homestand and his 10th two-out RBI over the past eight games.

Then it was Jaso’s turn for more heroics.

Saunders led off the eighth inning with a double down the left-field line off Detroit reliever Luke Putkonen (0-1) in just his second major league pearance. Saunders advanced to third after Chone Figgins’ sacrifice bunt. That was it for Putkonen, who was replaced by Duane Below to face Jaso.

Below got the count to 2-2 on Jaso before he lined a single over Peralta and into left-center field to score Saunders. Jaso got greedy and was thrown out trying to advance to second on the hit. Jaso had the game-winning RBI in Monday’s series opener against the Tigers.

“I don’t think I thrive. I don’t think I get more energy from it. It’s just the way I am I guess,” Jaso said of the late-inning heroics.

NOTES: Detroit C Alex Avila’s sore patella tendon was feeling better on Wednesday and he’ll be re-examined before the Tigers open a four-game series Thursday in Oakland. … Seattle 2B Dustin Ackley was given his second day off of the season on Wednesday. Ackley has struggled hitting just .238. … Jaso became just the second Seattle catcher to bat leadoff and the first since 1978.

The 2012 MLB regular season well underway. It is still a long road to October baseball but paths are already starting to take she. The beginning of the year brings promise, and already memories have been created early in the season. At this point anything can still hpen.

The highlight of the day will be when the Seattle Mariners visit the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa, Fla.

Felix Hernandez (2-1, 2.48 ERA) of the Seattle Mariners will take the mound facing off against Jeremy Hellickson (3-0, 2.84 ERA) of the Tampa Bay Rays in what is sure to be a battle between two pitchers that are off to fantastic starts this season. As Tampa Bay fights to claim the top spot in the American League East over the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle has quite a bit of ground to make up if they hope to catch the American League West leading Texas Rangers. Regardless of outcome, the dual between these two premier pitchers will have baseball fans glued to their seats.

With a number of great games to be played on the day, this will be one of the better ones.

Check your local listings for game times and channel listings in your area. With MLB.TV all games are also available nationwide (local blackouts ply).

Note: All start times Eastern

Monday, ril 30, 2012

Arizona Diamondbacks at Miami Marlins, 12:40 p.m.

Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 p.m.

Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers, 7:05 p.m.

Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m.

Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 p.m.

Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays, 7:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Houston Astros, 8:05 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies, 8:40 p.m.

Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres, 10:05 p.m.

Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels, 10:05 p.m.

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook.

TORONTO () The Seattle Mariners couldn’t come through in the clutch Sunday, and it cost them.

Edwin Encarnacion hit his third home run in three games, Henderson Alvarez won for the first time since August and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Mariners 7-2.

The Mariners went 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position and have not won a series north of the border since June 2008.

”We didn’t play very well all day,” Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. ”I didn’t feel like we were giving away at bats, but the end result of at bats wasn’t very good.”

Jeff Mathis added a two-run homer as Toronto broke open a close game with a five-run eighth inning.

Chone Figgins and Miguel Olivo hit solo homers for the Mariners, who lost their second straight.

Seattle put at least one runner at second or third base in each of the first, second, fourth, sixth, seven and ninth innings but failed to cash any of them in.

”We got the runners on, we just couldn’t push them across,” Figgins said.

Scoring runs wasn’t easy against Alvarez (1-2), who allowed one run and six hits in six-plus innings to win for the second time in 15 major league starts. The right-hander, whose only other victory came at Baltimore last Aug. 31, walked a career-high three and struck out one.

”We had some good hacks at him but he started changing speeds, started taking something off his fastball,” Figgins said. ”I think he saw that we were seeing his pitches and started taking a lot off his fastball.”

The Mariners jumped in front early when Figgins drilled Alvarez’s sixth pitch of the game over the wall in right, his second leadoff shot this season.

Jason Vargas (3-2) held Toronto hitless until Eric Thames’ two-out double in the fourth, an otherwise routine fly ball that dropped in front of Figgins in left.

”I broke back,” Figgins said. ”I felt bad that (Vargas) was going so good and had a no-hitter going for me to break back. (Thames) took a big swing, he was up in the count. I didn’t know he hit it off the end of the bat.”

The hit moved Encarnacion, who had walked, up to third base, but Vargas esced when Figgins caught Lawrie’s fly ball for the third out.

The Blue Jays broke through against Vargas in the fifth. Rasmus led off with a single, advanced to second on a grounder and scored on a two-out base hit to right by Kelly Johnson.

Alvarez was replaced by Evan Crawford after Munenori Kawasaki‘s leadoff single in the seventh. Figgins sacrifice Kawasaki to second but Crawford got Dustin Ackley and Ichiro Suzuki to ground out.

Encarnacion had a solo homer in Toronto’s 9-5 defeat Friday and hit his fourth career grand slam in Saturday’s 7-0 win. He went deep again in the finale, lacing a tiebreaking drive to left in the sixth off Vargas. Encarnacion’s homer was his team-leading seventh.

”Unfortunately, probably one of the only bad changeups I threw all night was to him and it was the difference in the game,” Vargas said.

Encarnacion, who walked in his first two plate pearances Sunday, was hit on the left arm by Steve Delabar in the eighth, responding with a long stare at the mound.

”I can’t say whether that pitch got away from them intentionally or what,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. ”But we answered the right way.”

Charlie Furbush replaced Delabar before Jose Bautista, who had led off with a single, and Encarnacion pulled off a double steal. Pinch hitter Rajai Davis was intentionally walked before Brett Lawrie hit a two-run double. One batter later, Davis scored on an errant pickoff throw by Olivo. Colby Rasmus struck out before Mathis homered into the second deck in left, his second.

Davis injured his right wrist diving back to third on Olivo’s throw and left the game. He was replaced by Ben Francisco in the ninth.

Casey Janssen worked the eighth and Francisco Cordero gave up Olivo’s second homer of the season in the ninth.

NOTES: Figgins also hit a leadoff homer in Seattle’s 4-1 win at Cleveland on ril 18. … Seattle announced that LH George Sherrill will undergo season-ending elbow surgery on May 4. Sherrill peared in two games this year. … Mariners SS Brendan Ryan, stuck in an 0 for 18 slump, was replaced in the lineup by Munenori Kawasaki. 1B Justin Smoak ( 2 for 27) also got the day off. Both are expected to start Monday at Tampa Bay.

SEATTLE — Jason Donald hit the ball in the perfect place to help the Cleveland Indians get a big win.

Donald’s tiebreaking single off Seattle reliever Tom Wilhelmsen in the top of the seventh cped the Indians’ rally from a seven-run deficit to beat the Mariners 9-8 Tuesday night.

“I didn’t hit it all that hard, but hit it in the right spot,” Donald said.

Mariners reliever Charlie Furbush (0-1) allowed a hit by Travis Hafner and a walk to Shelley Duncan before striking out the next two in the seventh and being replaced. However, Wilhelmsen could not close the inning, giving up Donald’s hit to right field.

Cleveland reliever Rafael Perez (1-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to pick up the win. Chris Perez got his third save in four tries, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth when John Jaso flew out to right field on a 2-0 pitch.

Earlier in the inning, a ground ball took a bad hop and hit Donald in the mouth before trickling into center field. That put runners on first and third with one out.

“A bad hop was an understatement,” said Donald, who finished with two hits and two RBIs. “I just saw it at the last second kick up. I didn’t put a glove on that thing, nothing. It was all face.

“Hopefully my girlfriend still wants to date me after getting smoked in the mouth like that.”

Justin Smoak had a career-high four hits for Seattle.

Carlos Santana’s three-run homer was the main blow in Cleveland’s seven-run fifth inning that tied the score at 8-all. It also gave the Indians a homer in every game this season.

After giving up a run in the first and following that with three scoreless innings, Seattle starter Kevin Millwood allowed five hits and did not get an out in the fifth.

“You try to figure out what’s not right and try to fix it,” Millwood said. “Tonight, I wasn’t able to do that.”

Donald’s fly to center off reliever Erasmo Ramirez tied the score and cped the Indians’ big inning. Once it was over, every Cleveland player had a hit.

Cleveland starter Justin Masterson was cruising along until the fourth inning. Leading 2-1, the Mariners put together five hits and scored six runs, plus Masterson walked two and hit a batter in the inning.

Ichiro Suzuki drove in two runs with a line drive to right field. After Smoak picked up his second single of the inning, Masterson was finally lifted after throwing 71 pitches in 3 2-3 innings. He allowed eight earned runs, walked four and gave up seven hits.

The Indians got on the board in the first when Hafner singled hard to left field to drive in Michael Brantley. It was a laborious first inning for Millwood, who threw 26 pitches, allowed two hits and walked one. By contrast, Masterson threw just nine pitches in a 1-2-3 first.

Millwood adjusted quickly. He threw 26 pitches over the next two innings and allowed just one hit before unraveling in the fifth.

Jaso hit a two-run homer to drive in Ryan, who had walked, in the bottom of the third inning to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.

NOTES: Kyle Seager had the 50,000th hit in Mariners history, a single in the fourth inning. Smoak scored Seattle’s 25,000th run on a bases-loaded walk to Brendan Ryan in the same inning. … The Mariners gave catcher Miguel Olivo the day off. Olivo is hitting .111 this season and also has twice as many strikeouts (8) as hits (4). … The Indians don’t expect SS Asdrubal Cabrera back before their six-game road trip ends. Cabrera was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday following a family death. Cleveland called up LHP Nick Hagadone to replace Cabrera.