Watch: Brett Gardner Homers In Yankees’ 4-1 Win Vs. Mariners

Brett Gardner smacked a solo home run in the sixth inning and Luis Severino threw seven shutout innings to lift the New York Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Mariners in Seattle on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

YANKEE-MARINERS SCORES

Gardner capitalized on Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez’s (5-4) lone serious error by blasting a 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats with one out in the sixth to put the Yankees up 1-0.

The hit marked the left fielder’s 16th homer of the season.

“You face a guy like Severino today, you can’t make any mistakes. I made one mistake against Gardner and he hit a homer,” Hernandez said. “I was trying to go sinker down and away, and it didn’t sink.”

The Venezuelan starter delivered a strong performance otherwise on Thursday. He finished with a season-high nine strikeouts in seven innings.

Meanwhile, Severino had one of his best nights of the season. The 23-year-old Dominican right-hander struck out six, allowed eight hits and one walk, and avoided jams in the first, second and fourth inning when the Mariners had runners on the corners with no outs and were unable to score.

“It shows you he understands what he needs to do,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Severino, who was named an American League All-Star earlier this year. “He has to get after it from the first hitter and that’s exactly what he’s doing because two runs could beat you when you’re facing guys like that.”

Severino also tossed the quickest pitch by an MLB starter in 2017 when he delivered a 1-2 fastball to Jean Segura with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Segura managed to hit the 101.2 mph pitch, although four throws later, Severino induced a ground ball to short.

“Right now, I feel good. My arms feel good, my body’s feeling good,” Severino said to MLB.com’s Josh Horton. “It’s been five days. I worked the day before running and stuff. The stuff we do with the trainer and conditioning, that’s really helped me.”

Severino (6-4) earned his first win since June 10. He now boasts a 3.21 ERA, and has helped even the Yankees’ record to 4-4 on their 11-game road trip.

“Man, he’s been unbelievable,” Gardner said of the righty. “Not just tonight, but last weekend in Boston and really the whole first half. It’s been a lot of fun seeing him continue to grow and it’s all about fastball command for him. He’s been really, really good with that recently. It makes it really easy for us on the defensive side of the ball. There’s not a whole lot of action going on out there.”

Aaron Judge doubled New York’s lead (2-0) with a bases-loaded single to right field in the eighth for his 68th RBI of the year to score Chase Headley. 

Didi Gregorius and Todd Frazier then each added an unearned run in the ninth, with Frazier recording his first hit as a Yankee since the team acquired him via a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

The Yankees (49-45, 3rd in AL East) now sit four games behind the Boston Red Sox (54-43) for the lead in the division. Tampa Bay (51-45) is second.

The Mariners and Yankees face off again at Safeco Field at 10:10 pm EST on Friday.  CC Sabathia (8-3, 3.54 ERA), who is tied for the Yankees lead in wins, will start for the team. The veteran righty has posted a1.60 ERA in his last six starts. Seattle will counter with 23-year-old right-hander Andrew Moore (1-1, 5.25 ERA), who will make his fifth major league start.

SEATTLE, WA – JULY 20: Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees hits a solo home run off of starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning of a game at Safeco Field on July 20, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)