Judge homers, Yankees roll to 9-4 win over Mariners

Before Logan Gilbert could register a single out in Monday’s series opener, the annual influx of Yankees fans made themselves known at T-Mobile Park, breaking into the familiar cheer: “Let’s go, Yankees!”

By the top of the third, New York’s Aaron Judge had garnered “MVP” chants. His ninth-inning solo homer — his major league-leading 44th of the season — was the encore.

Judge sliced a ground-rule double into right field in his first at-bat, helping the Yankees score an early pair of runs in the first inning and go on to win convincingly, 9-4.

Mariners manager Scott Servais hoped for a rejuvenated offense after a slower-than-anticipated start to the homestand, but after six innings Monday night, the Mariners had two hits — both from outfielder Mitch Haniger.

Servais’ first words after the loss: “Not our night.”

Even as Yankees leadoff hitter D.J. LeMahieu lined a single to right center field in the game’s first at-bat, a generous portion of the 35,843 in Monday night’s crowd broke into applause. Judge followed with his ground-rule double before third baseman Josh Donaldson poked a single to left field, plating both runners.

“They were on Logan early on,” Servais continued. “Donaldson was on him all night.”

Haniger took a run back in the bottom of the first, launching a 409-foot solo home run into Seattle’s bullpen. It was his 100th career homer with the Mariners.

But, Gilbert went on to allow 10 hits and seven runs across four-plus innings, allowing the Yankees — who have the best record in the American League — to grab the first of a three-game set.

New York added on in the third, plating two runs with as many outs. Donaldson demolished a solo homer atop T-Mobile Park’s manual scoreboard in left field, pushing the Yankees lead back to a pair. He finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with two doubles.

Gleyber Torres followed, rifling a 2-2 fastball off the right field wall. Haniger played the ball on a hop and fired it to the infield — holding the second baseman to a long single — but Andrew Benintendi subsequently doubled, scoring Torres anyway. It was 4-1.

Seattle had its chances, first with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. In what was perhaps the best at-bat of the contest, J.P. Crawford stepped to the plate as the leading run when all of T-Mobile Park rose to its feet.

Crawford worked a full count before fouling away Jameson Taillon’s first 3-2 offering, a curveball in the strike zone’s inner half. Then, he fought off another — the same curveball, and in the zone’s same quadrant. Taillon tried again with a fastball, but Crawford sent that into foul territory, too.

He fouled back Taillon’s fourth full-count pitch. Then, a fifth.

Crawford finally took the at-bat’s 11th pitch low for ball four, scoring Haniger and cutting the lead to 4-2.

The deficit didn’t remain there for long. New York immediately responded, knocking Gilbert around for three consecutive doubles to lead off the fifth.

Servais then emerged from the dugout, signaling to the bullpen.

“They swung it. You’ve got to give credit,” Servais said. “They’ve got a good offense, and they swung the bat really well against us tonight.

“Coming out of the All-Star break, Logan Gilbert has faced the Astros and the Astros and the Yankees and the Yankees. They have good lineups, very deep lineups. ... Logan’s going to be clutch for us down the stretch. He’s a workaholic. I don’t have any concerns.”

Yankees shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in Benintendi later in the inning on a sacrifice fly, which pushed the score to 7-2. Aside from his 10 hits and seven earned runs, Gilbert walked one and fanned two. He threw 91 pitches — roughly half of them four-seamers — mixing in a slider, knuckle curve and three changeups.

“They hit some good pitches that I made,” Gilbert said. “Of course, when you leave it over the middle or get behind in the count, good hitters are gonna hit it.”

When the right-hander exited Monday night’s contest in the fifth, so did left fielder Jesse Winker, the cause later announced by the team as back spasms. Jake Lamb, acquired last week before the Aug. 2 trade deadline, replaced him. Winker is considered day-to-day.

Gilbert’s last start came against the very same Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 2. He struggled, surrendering seven hits — three of them homers — and six runs, but Seattle held on, 8-6, and went on to win the road series.

Gilbert generated eight whiffs to Taillon’s game-high 11 on Monday. New York’s starter went seven strong frames, surrendering three runs on three hits (two homers) to help snap a season-high five-game losing skid.

“You know that was what we needed,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, referring to Taillon’s outing. “For him to give us seven strong like he did was huge ... it was a big-time effort by him.”

Cal Raleigh crushed a solo homer to right center with two outs in the seventh, cutting the deficit to four.

Haniger blooped his third hit of the night to right center field for a single in the eighth inning.

Ryan Borucki entered the pitch the ninth, allowing Judge to launch a 423-foot solo shot to dead-center field. The “MVP” chants resurfaced, and New York led, 8-3.

“The (Yankees) make you pay,” Servais said. “They don’t chase a lot.”

Midway through an at-bat with Benintendi, Borucki signaled to trainers in the dugout before exiting the game. Servais called on Matt Festa to finish the frame, who surrendered another run on Jose Trevino’s RBI single.

Servais announced after the game that Borucki, currently the lone lefty in Seattle’s bullpen, suffered a left forearm strain. He’ll receive an MRI on Tuesday morning, but it’s expected that Borucki will miss extended time.

“Obviously, it’s a left forearm (strain), and (Ryan’s) left-handed ... that’s pretty serious,” Servais said. “He’s going to miss some time, for sure.”

Sam Haggerty’s single plated Eugenio Suarez with the Mariners down to their final out in the ninth, but New York’s Clay Holmes went on to secure a 9-4 final.

“This is the best baseball in the world, at the highest level,” Gilbert said. “I want to do better. I want to execute better. ... I’m trying to improve every time out, and facing teams like this is a good way to do that.”

INJURY UPDATES

▪ Outfielder Julio Rodriguez (wrist) “picked up the swings” Monday and focused on grip strength Sunday, which Servais said is “very comparable to what he had when he’s normal.”

The All-Star rookie is “still feeling it a little bit on the vibration of the bat” during practice, and Servais hoped the team would have an idea before Tuesday night’s game whether Rodriguez, eligible to come off the injured list Wednesday, would be available for the series finale with New York.

“The (Yankees) have (Nestor Cortes), the lefty, throwing on Wednesday, so if we could get him back, that’d be great,” Servais said. “But I only want (Julio) to come back if he feels 100 percent, ready to go.”

▪ Left-hander and recent trade acquisition Matthew Boyd threw a two-inning simulated game Monday. Packaged alongside Curt Casali from the Giants last week, Boyd has yet to appear for either club this season after undergoing forearm flexor tendon surgery.

His fastball in the first inning of Monday’s simulated game touched 93 mph, and his secondary pitches “were all there,” Servais said.

“(Matthew) was really excited about it,” Servais added. “I guess the next step would probably be to go on a rehab assignment and get some innings under his belt.”

▪ Dylan Moore is feeling “really good” and on target to return for Wednesday’s series finale against the Yankees when he’s eligible to come off the IL, Servais said.

Out since July 30 with back spasms, Moore went through a full workout Monday and took swings in Boyd’s simulated game.

“I don’t expect any setbacks,” Servais said. “He should be able to go on Wednesday.”

▪ Diego Castillo (right shoulder inflammation) appeared in High-A Everett on Sunday as part of a rehab assignment, throwing 20 pitches and surrendering five runs (four earned) on three hits.

“I don’t think we need to get too caught up in the stat line. Sometimes, that happens,” Servais said. “But, the velocity was there. The stuff was there.”

Castillo couldn’t complete the fifth inning, but “felt great,” Servais said, and after Castillo meets with trainers, the team will decide whether he’ll be activated Wednesday.

▪ Outfielder Taylor Trammell (right hamstring strain) continues to work on swing timing during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma.

“From a physical standpoint, he feels good,” Servais said, though a concrete timeline for Trammell’s return has not been specified.