Braves fall again to Yankees

Yankees 3, Braves 1

ATLANTA — Rookie Luis Severino allowed only four hits in six scoreless innings to lead the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over Matt Wisler and the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

Severino (3-1) was lifted for pinch hitter Alex Rodriguez in the seventh.

The Yankees remained 1½ games behind firstplace Toronto in the AL East with their second straight win over the Braves. The Braves have lost four straight and 11 of 12. The sellout crowd of 49,243 was a seasonhigh at Turner Field.

Severino, making only his fifth start since his big league debut on Aug. 5, was dominant. He struck out five and walked three.

Severino has allowed no more than three runs while pitching five or six innings in each start.

Andrew Miller pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save.

Wisler (5-5), also a rookie right-hander, gave up two runs on four hits and four walks in six-plus innings. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a bloop double that fell behind third baseman Adonis Garcia. Ellsbury moved to third on Brett Gardner’s grounder and scored on Wisler’s wild pitch to Chase Headley.

Wisler didn’t allow another run until the seventh. He was pulled after allowing back-to-back doubles to Headley and Didi Gregorius that pushed the lead to 2-0.

Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons’ acrobatic tag on Ellsbury, who was trying to steal second base, ended the fifth.