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NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter seems to be trying to will the New York Yankees into the playoffs against the mighty odds. Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. They serenaded him with chants of his name throughout the ninth inning. And in between they burst into ovations when the 40-year-old continued his late-season renaissance with a two-run double and a run-scoring grounder for his first three-RBI game in two years. Jeters offence backed a one-hitter from Michael Pineda and three relievers in a 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles that gave New York a tiny bit more belief. "You continue to play, and you continue to fight until youre out of games. Thats all you can do," Jeter said. "Im well aware of the situation that were in." Likely to miss consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1992 and 93, New York closed within four games of the second AL wild card but must overtake three teams to reach the playoffs. The Yankees have just six games left -- three more at home against Baltimore and three at Boston. "We have to pretty much win out," manager Joe Girardi said. "But you never know. Strange things happen in sports. Weve seen it. Weve seen people that were 10 games back come back in a months time and find a way to get in the playoffs on the last day. Crazy things happen." About 200 fans were on hand when Jeter walked out of the dugout for the first hitting group at about 4:15 p.m. The crowd of 35,614 stood each time late public address announcer Bob Sheppards recording introduced the Yankees last player to wear a single-digit uniform number, and fans remained on their feet throughout each at-bat taking photographs and video. "Its been awesome. Its what Ill remember most from this season," Jeter said. "Its whats made this homestand extremely fun, was getting an opportunity to play in front of these fans and the way that theyve reacted." Jeter went 1 for 3 with a walk, hitting a deep flyout, a run-scoring groundout that made it 2-0 in the third and a double down the left-field line on the eighth pitch of his at-bat against Wei-Yin Chen (16-5) in the fifth. Jeter is 9 for 20 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs on this final homestand, raising his batting average seven points to .256. "Careers only last so long, especially athletic careers. Im well aware of that," Jeter said. "Ive come to grips with this is the last season." Jose Pirela was a vibrant counterpoint, displaying the exuberance of a debutante when he became New Yorks first player in 33 years to triple in his first big league at-bat. The Yankees team-record 57th player this season, Pirela went 2 for 3 with the go-ahead RBI. "Its fun to see guys so excited when they get their career first hit," Jeter said. Pineda (4-5) retired his first 13 batters before J.J. Hardy singled sharply to left field. The right-hander struck out eight and walked one in 7 1-3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.93. Pineda got some rare offensive support from the Yankees, who had scored 19 runs in his previous 15 big league starts, and was given defensive help by second baseman Stephen Drew, who made a diving stop on Alejandro De Azas first-inning grounder. Shawn Kelley, Rich Hill and David Phelps finished as Baltimore was held to one hit for the third time this season. Pirela, a 24-year-old who spent 731 games in the minors over seven seasons, made his major league debut in the third as a designated hitter. He worked the count to 1-1 and drove a changeup on one hop to the wall in left-centre. Pirela ran so hard he stumbled after rounding both first base and second, then slid headfirst into third. He pounded the ground with his right arm, popped up and clapped five times. The previous Yankees player to triple in his first at-bat was Steve Balboni against Detroit on April 22, 1981. "When I saw the lineup I felt so excited," a beaming Pirela said. Ichiro Suzuki, who had reached on third baseman Ryan Flahertys throwing error, scored from first. Pirela hit an opposite-field single to right in the fifth and advanced on Brett Gardners walk ahead of Jeters double. Chase Headley added a solo homer into Monument Park in the eighth off Ryan Webb. When it was done, Jeter didnt want to think about what it would take this week to reach the playoffs. "We need to win tomorrow," he said. "Cant look that far in advance." TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira had a third cortisone shot in his surgically repaired right wrist on Sunday and hopes to play Tuesday. ... LHP CC Sabathia played catch at the ballpark for the first time since season-ending knee surgery July 23. UP NEXT New York RHP Brandon McCarthy (7-4) starts Tuesday against Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (5-9). .A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/din ... ey-jersey/. The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266. The victory is Garcias first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December. . MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night. . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night.HOUSTON -- The Seattle Mariners are next-to-last in the American League in scoring. Playing the only team below them gave their offence a boost. Justin Smoak homered to cap an eight-run burst in the seventh inning, leading Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners over the Houston Astros 9-8 Saturday night. "We have had a habit of doing it all in one inning," Smoak said. "It was good to get something going there. We got it going, kept it going and were able to hold on there at the end." Given a 2-1 lead, Dallas Keuchel (2-2) left after walking the first three batters of the seventh. Jose Cisneros forced in the run that made it 2-2 when he walked Mike Zunino, and Mchael Saunders followed with a two-run double. Stefen Romero and Robinson Cano added RBI singles, Kyle Seager doubled in run and Smoaks two-run homer off Raul Valdes made it 9-2. The inning was Seattles highest-scoring since getting eight in the second at Texas on May 30, 2012. "A win is a win," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "People say you win ugly. I dont buy that. A win is a win. I told you guys, playing great and losing, you dont get the ice cream. We get ice cream tonight. Thats all that counts." McClendon was ejected in the seventh after the walk that loaded the bases. Catcher Jason Castro went to the mound to talk to Keuchel, and when he began walking back to the plate, McClendon was tossed by plate umpire James Hoye for arguing. "I told him that the manager told the catcher to go talk to the pitcher," McClendon said. "I said he had been out there once. Obviously, he was trying to get more time. That could be construed as a trip to the mound. I said it was in the rule book, and he threw me out." Iwakuma (1-0) made his first appearance after starting the season on the disabled list because of a sprained right middle finger. He allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings; the Astros stopped his consecutive scoreless innings streak at 25 dating to last year. "Overall, todays game I was able to pitch well," Iwakuma said through a translator. "I was able to command both sides of the plate and that helped with prettty much all my pitches.dddddddddddd" Fernando Rodney escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and finished for his seventh save. Keuchel allowed four runs and four hits with three strikeouts, leaving after walking the bases loaded with no outs in the seventh. "Out of the gate, I didnt really feel too well, but I had some early contact. Some groundball outs kind of got me in a groove," Keuchel said. "It feels like a train hit me in the seventh. Its not like me to walk three guys in a row. I felt like a couple of those pitches were close, but the umpire has the final say." Keuchel took a two-out shutout into the fifth, then gave up an RBI single in the sixth that closed the Mariners to 2-1. "A couple times through the order, he was able to keep us off balance," Zunino said. "We were able to get some good at-bats together and cycle through. Once guys start feeling good, it starts opening up for everyone." Jonathan Villar and Chris Carter each homered in Houstons four-run seventh as the Astros dropped to 10-20. Carter also tripled and Marwin Gonzalez had three hits. Carter hit an RBI triple to the centre-field hill in the eighth and scored on Alex Presleys single, making it 9-8. After Yoervis Medina walked the bases loaded, Rodney induced Jose Altuve to fly out. "Great response," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Those guys, its a credit to them. They keep plugging away. We talk about it all the time. Regardless of what happens, every at-bat counts. Grind your at-bats out, and today was a prime example of that, and we put ourselves in position to make a huge comeback." NOTES: After hitting the game-winning single Friday night, Astros rookie OF George Springer was given the day off. Springer, called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on April 16, had started the last 14 games. "Its more of just a breather," Porter said. ... Seattle OF Abraham Almonte, in a 4-for-37 slump in his last 10 games, was out of the lineup. "Thats why hes sitting, because its not working," McClendon said. "Its that simple. Hes not playing because hes not producing." ' ' '