SEATTLE – The Yankees thought the line drive that knocked Jaret Wright out of the game cost them a victory. Still, they were happy to leave Seattle with the pitcher on the team plane instead of in the hospital.

Raul Ibanez’s sixth-inning liner yesterday hit Wright on the right collarbone and the right side of his neck, forcing him from the game. X-rays were negative, but the Mariners rallied for a 5-1 win.

Leading 1-0 when Wright was struck, the Yankees lost after Miguel Ojeda’s first home run with Seattle broke a 1-all tie in the seventh.

“He comes out of the game and everything turns around,” catcher Jorge Posada said.

Despite the loss, the Yankees were happy that Wright appeared to escape serious injury. In the clubhouse after the game, Wright pulled down his crew neck shirt and displayed an ugly, red, 3-inch knot on the side of his neck.

“It was a pitcher’s worst nightmare,” he said. “You throw the ball and then it’s right there on you. He got me pretty good.”

The right-hander stayed down on the mound for a few minutes as players rushed to his aid and then helped him to his feet. Without taking any warmups, he walked to the dugout under his own power.

“It hurts right now,: an obviously uncomfortable Wright said. “My neck’s real stiff and I have a headache. But it could have been worse.”

Wright pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits. It was his eighth start of the season, his fourth since coming off the 60-day disabled list on August 15 following a shoulder injury. It was the eighth time he was on the disabled list in his nine-year career, the sixth because of a shoulder problem.

Torre and Wright said it was too early to tell if the pitcher would miss a turn. “Hopefully, it feels better tomorrow,” Wright said.

After Wright came out, Tanyon Sturtze (4-3) walked Richie Sexson. Sturtze got Adrian Beltre to fly out, but Dave Hansen singled to score Ibanez and tie the score at one. That broke a streak of 19 scoreless innings by Yankees pitchers in the series. But they managed only a four-game split before heading to AL West-leading Oakland.

Ojeda, a light-hitting catcher acquired in a trade with San Diego on July 30, connected off Sturtze with one out in the seventh, his 13th major league homer. In the ninth, Ibanez singled and scored from first on Beltre’s double off Ramiro Mendoza to make it 3-1. Jose Lopez added a two-run homer, his first of the season.

The Yankees began the day 2 1/2 games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and one game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the wild-card race.

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The Yankees moved Kevin Brown to the 60-day disabled list yesterday, a move that in effect ends his season and perhaps his major league career.

The 40-year-old right-hander, bothered by back problems, has been on the DL 14 times in his career, including three times this year. He went back on the DL on July 28 with a lumbar strain, a move retroactive to July 24.

Brown’s roster spot was given to Ramiro Mendoza, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Columbus. Mendoza, who had shoulder surgery in January, was 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in eight games in Columbus, allowing two runs and four hits in 12 innings.

The Yankees also recalled left-hander Wayne Franklin and catcher Wil Neves from Columbus, and activated outfielder Ruben Sierra.