SEATTLE -- The New York Yankees wanted to give Masahiro Tanaka an easy outing in his first game back from the disabled list and the Seattle Mariners obliged.

Tanaka, working his way back from right wrist tendinitis and a strained forearm, threw 78 pitches in seven innings, struck out nine batters and allowed just one run and three hits in the Yankees' 3-1 victory on Wednesday before a crowd of 32,701.

"I think it was the best outing I've had this year, so far," Tanaka said afterward.

Tanaka (3-1) was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 29. After two rehab starts and six days of rest, he appeared in fine health, picking up the win and limiting the Mariners to one serious scoring opportunity. He retired the first six batters he faced and the final 13.

Seattle's only run came in the third inning.

"That's probably as good of stuff as he's had all year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "And there were questions after his last start. I don't make too much of Triple-A starts and those situations because when you're used to pitching at this level you don't know exactly how you feel until you go down there. But god, he was really, really good."

In the Mariners' third, shortstop Brad Miller legged out a triple and left fielder Dustin Ackley produced a run-scoring, opposite-field double that bounced off the wall. Ackley was sent home on first baseman Logan Morrison's single, but a near-perfect throw from left fielder Ramon Flores beat him to the plate.

"If that goes either way, I think I'm safe. He beat me by just a hair," Ackley said.

Seattle, seven games through an 11-game homestand, has lost its last five games, the second-longest home stint for the Mariners since 2005.

Mariners starter Taijuan Walker turned in his second consecutive solid outing after struggling through the first two months of the season but picked up the loss.

"I feel like me and (catcher Mike Zunino) had a good groove the last outing and just kind of kept the same thing," Walker said. "He's been really confident in all my pitches and if he shakes off or really wants a pitch it gives me confidence to throw the pitch."

Yankees hitters were rarely able to connect against Walker (2-6), but when their sluggers made contact, they made it count with two home runs that helped New York complete a three-game series sweep.

Walker held the Yankees to five hits in eight innings while striking out seven. He breezed through the first inning, striking out the first two batters he faced and getting designated hitter Alex Rodriguez on a grounder back to the mound.

After the game, Zunino and Walker attributed some of Walker's recent success to better use of his plus-curveball.

"It's a pitch that has some depth," Zunino said. "Usually his fastball can sink a little bit and so can his changeup -- something to slow him down, show some depth and then we can speed them back up with that fastball."

Yankees first baseman Mark Texeira homered to lead off the second, his second of the series and 15th of the season. Rodriguez led off the fourth with a walk and came home on a homer by right fielder Garrett Jones, who went yard for the second time in just over half a day.

Jones hit both the series-winning and series-sweeping home runs against the Mariners, blasting a three-run, go-ahead shot in the 11th inning of Tuesday's win.

The only time the Yankees appeared in danger was when they took Tanaka out of the game, in order to keep him under a cap of 80-85 pitches, and relievers Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller combined to load the bases with one out in the eighth. But Miller struck out Morrison and induced a grounder from center fielder Austin Jackson to retire two of Seattle's hottest hitters.

"We had a real good pitcher on the ropes," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "And couldn't get a big hit."
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