The Bronx wasn't very welcoming for Robinson Cano. He didn't let the jeers get to him either.

Cano hit a pair of two-run homers, Hisashi Iwakuma pitched well into the sixth, and the Seattle Mariners escaped with a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday.

"The more they boo me," Cano said, "I use that as a motivation. You got to hear it, but I don't really pay attention. And I'm not the first or going to be the last one (they boo)."

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Asked about the rude welcome he got from Yankees fans, Cano said: "I just go to the plate and make some damage."

The Mariners almost let the win slip away with closer Carson Smith committing defensive errors in the endgame. The Yankees scored once in the ninth to bring the lead down to one, with a runner on second.

But Smith managed to seal the victory by retiring Didi Gregorius on a grounder to Cano at second, a fitting end for the former hitter of the Yankees.

Cano spent considerable time wearing the pinstripes before heading to the Pacific Northwest by signing a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Mariners after the 2013 season. That decision hasn't sit well with Yankees fans, it seemed.

Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon pointed out that Saturday's victory was pivotal for the team who began the season on a slump, losing 11 of the first 17 games.

"This, in my mind, was a must victory for us," he said. "Coming out of the break, you didn't want to go 0-2. We hadn't beaten this team all year. They've handled us pretty good. So this was important."

After the Mariners raced to an early 2-0 lead, Iwakuma held the fort by retiring 11 of the first 12 Yankee hitters.

The 12th hitter on the rotation, Mark Texeira struck a line drive to the right, good for a single, before Brian McCann sent an 0-1 fastball off to the stands for a two-run homer.

"I felt good overall," said Iwakuma, who recently recovered from a strained back muscle that placed him on the disabled list for 11 weeks.

"It's just that one pitch to Brian McCann, a fastball up and away. It wasn't a good pitch. And it was coming after two outs. That, I kind of regret. Other than that, I thought I did well overall," he added.

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