SEATTLE -- Wilson Betemit spent seven innings on the bench watching his team get thoroughly stifled by Brandon Morrow, who was making his first Major League start but acting as though he'd been there a million times before.

Finally sent up to pinch-hit, Betemit did what the rest of his teammates could not do in the eighth: doubling on a fat Morrow curveball, breaking up his bid for history on a night the right-hander showcased what certainly could have been no-hit stuff.

It was the high point of another low evening for the Yankees, who fell to the Mariners, 3-1, on Friday in opening a weekend series at Safeco Field as another stake was driven into their waning playoff hopes.

Morrow showed the Yankees plenty of strikes, but not a whole lot they could do anything with, coming within four outs of a no-hitter. Batting for Jose Molina, Betemit came off the bench and rapped a 1-2 curveball to the right-field wall as Hideki Matsui scored, erasing the shutout on Morrow's 106th and final pitch.

"Everybody wanted to have that base hit, but it's tough because this guy is throwing 98 [mph] with his fastball," Betemit said. "Everything he was throwing, he was throwing pretty good. You just go up there and swing the bat."

Before that pitch, Morrow had allowed just three balls to leave the infield, striking out eight after retiring the first 10 batters and walking three along the way.

"It really does matter who it was against, but the Yankees are the Yankees," Morrow said. "They are a tough, patient team, and throwing strikes is a big part in facing a patient team. They can work a pitcher pretty good."

The Yankees had seen Morrow before in relief, and some recalled being impressed with his stuff. The exhibition they saw on Friday removed all doubt.

"He threw the ball like he threw when he was in the bullpen," Derek Jeter said. "He was just able to do it for a longer period of time. He had an overpowering fastball, and I think as the game went on he started mixing in a few more breaking balls and his offspeed stuff. He wasn't falling behind guys, he was coming after us."

As Morrow walked off the mound to a standing ovation from a crowd of 39,518, manager Joe Girardi looked at the situation with optimistic eyes: With Morrow out of the game, perhaps the bats could crack through against Seattle's bullpen.

But that -- like Morrow's no-hit bid -- was not to be. Representing the tying run, Johnny Damon popped out against reliever Justin Thomas to end the eighth, and J.J. Putz pitched around a leadoff Jeter single in the ninth inning to log his 11th save in just Seattle's 55th victory, lowest in the American League.

"You think you've got him out of the game and maybe you've got a chance to get to the next guy," Girardi said. "We had a couple of chances, but we weren't able to cash in."

The game came one night -- and a cross-country flight -- after the Yankees were held to one hit through six innings by the Rays' Scott Kazmir at Tropicana Field. But Kazmir walked five in that outing and was not nearly as dominant as Morrow appeared on Friday.

"It's very frustrating," Damon said. "I wish I could have done something these last two days. The hits just aren't falling in."

The Yankees have not been no-hit since June 11, 2003, when six Houston Astros pitchers combined to hold New York hitless at Yankee Stadium in an 8-0 decision. That was small consolation.

On the losing end of this battle, Andy Pettitte continued to show signs of late-season fatigue, allowing three runs on seven hits through seven innings as he dropped his third consecutive start.

"I felt good. It's the same old story, I guess," Pettitte said. "It's just frustrating -- another loss. There's not a whole lot good you can say about it."

Pettitte struck out nine and walked one in what Girardi called "a pretty good night," but the veteran left-hander has been touched for 15 runs over 18 innings since his last victory, an Aug. 20 outing against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

"I haven't won a game in what feels like a long time," Pettitte said. "We need wins. Losses aren't helping right now. We're running out of options here as far as being able to lose too many more."

Pettitte escaped damage through the first two innings before Miguel Cairo doubled to open the third, scoring on Yuniesky Betancourt's sacrifice fly.

Pettitte then allowed three consecutive hits to open the fourth -- including Matt Tuiasosopo's first Major League hit, a double -- as Seattle went up, 3-0, on Kenji Johjima's single through the left side and Cairo's RBI fielder's choice.

Knowing that every victory is of utmost importance, some Yankees have taken to scoreboard watching. From their West Coast perch, Damon acknowledged seeing the Red Sox win earlier in the evening, dropping New York 8 1/2 games behind Boston in the chase for the AL Wild Card.

"The hill gets a little steeper now," Girardi said.