SEATTLE -- Logan Gilbert was in full “Walter” mode on Thursday afternoon, evoking his uber competitive alter ego early and often in a game that the Mariners badly needed to win, and against a Yankees club that has had his number for most of his career.

Riding three runs of support in the opening frame, Gilbert overcame a two-run homer by Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the third, and Seattle narrowly held on for a 3-2 victory to avoid a sweep. Andrés Muñoz locked down his 22nd save to cap a combined scoreless effort from JT Chargois, Troy Taylor and Trent Thornton from the Mariners’ bullpen.

In victory, the Mariners (78-75) gained ground in the American League Wild Card race, trimming their gap to two games behind Minnesota and Detroit -- each of which owns the tiebreaker over Seattle -- for the final spot. The Mariners will now wait on the outcome of the Astros’ game against the Angels to see if they can cut Houston’s lead atop the AL West to four games with a loss.

“I think just competing,” Gilbert said. “That's when it's fun. You can view it as a threat and like you're backed into a corner or you can look at it like, 'I love competing, I love a challenge' -- and that's kind of what we're doing.”

Gilbert grinded through 5 1/3 innings and was pulled after reaching 97 pitches, the last of which secured his ninth strikeout. But it was the pair of punchouts in the first inning that were more monumental, as they brought Gilbert’s season total to 200, making him just the ninth pitcher in franchise history to reach that benchmark.

The next major milestone -- one that he’s had on his mind since Spring Training -- will be on the table when he takes the mound on Tuesday in Houston: The coveted 200-inning threshold, as Gilbert reached 197 on Thursday.

“It's kind of been motivation,” Gilbert said. “The best in the game, I feel like, can get there. It starts with throwing a lot of innings, and then starts with being able to get strikeouts, too.”

Gilbert leveraged the best version of his splitter en route to eight of those nine strikeouts. The eight K's with his splitter are tied with three others (Taj Bradley, Shota Imanaga and Jordan Hicks) for the most by any pitcher with a splitter in a game this season. Gilbert also worked around traffic in each frame, with just the homer allowed.

“It had good depth today, for sure,” Gilbert said of the splitter. “And arm-side or even a couple glove-side -- it kind of varied which direction it would go that way -- but I felt like the depth was really good.”

Added manager Dan Wilson: “It was dancing everywhere.”

Gilbert was moved up one day in the rotation to make Thursday’s start, as the Mariners re-slotted to put their best arms in their biggest matchups for this final stretch. He also had extra motivation given that the Yankees had tagged him to the tune of a 9.78 ERA in his past four starts against them. No moment encapsulated Gilbert's fire more than when he stared down the visitors' dugout after he stranded two runners in the fourth.

“It's just a competitive game,” Gilbert said. “I mean, they're obviously a really good team. I have a lot of respect for them. I think I was hearing stuff during the game, but honestly, I'm not sure where it was coming from -- if it was the bench or their fans in the first row or whatever. So there's really nothing to it besides just heat of the moment.”

Seattle’s scuffling offense rebounded from a stinging loss the night prior by jumping on Yanks starter Clarke Schmidt for a three-spot in the first via sacrifice flies from Justin Turner and Jorge Polanco, and an RBI single from J.P. Crawford. And that inning proved vital, as the Mariners went scoreless the rest of the way.

A huge heave from Luke Raley was also key, as his 91.8 mph outfield assist to nab Jasson Dominguez at home for the final out in the second inning proved pivotal in a one-run game.

“It ended up being a bigger throw than I initially anticipated,” Raley said. “Just make a good throw, give Cal [Raleigh] a good hop and try to keep it on the right side to give him a chance.”

The Mariners now embark on their final road trip of 2024, going to Arlington then Houston -- a sprint that will define how they finish this season, or if they can extend it.