Severino has another strong outing as Yanks beat Tigers

New York — The good vibes in Yankee Stadium after Brian Cashman's trade for Sonny Gray on Monday were still wafting through the crowd when something worrisome happened in the top of the first inning.

Trainer Steve Donohue jogged out to the mound after Luis Severino threw a pitch to Detroit's Victor Martinez with two outs and the bases loaded. Certainly the Yankees wouldn't be cursed with losing their prized young ace to injury just hours after adding Gray?

Thankfully for the Yankees, Severino was OK and Donohue went back to the dugout. Severino struck out Martinez to end the inning and went on to throw a season-high 116 pitches in only five innings. But it was enough for him to earn the win as the Yankees beat the Tigers, 7-3, before 39,904.

The Yankees believe they upgraded their rotation with the trade for Gray from Oakland and Sunday's pickup of lefthander Jaime Garcia from the Twins. So they don't want to think for a second about an injury to Severino, who improved to 8-4 as the Yankees maintained their half-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East.

Chase Headley and Todd Frazier each drove in two runs and Aaron Judge hit his 34th home run for the Yankees, who have won seven of eight.

Severino had the strikeout pitch working. His first five outs were strikeouts and he finished with eight. He also allowed one run, four hits, walked three and hit a batter.

Severino has allowed two earned runs in his last 26 innings. The only run he allowed on Monday came in the fourth. Mikie Mahtook singled

with two outs and took second when Clint Frazier overran the ball for an error. James McCann followed with an RBI double into the right-field corner that just eluded a diving Judge to give the Tigers a short-lived 1-0 lead.

The Yankees scored four in the bottom of the fourth against Detroit starter Michael Fulmer (10-9). With the bases loaded and no outs, Headley gave the Yankees the lead with a two-run double. Todd Frazier followed with a two-run single to make it 4-1.

Judge, who has been slumping mightily since the Home Run Derby, hit a solo rocket to left in the fifth.

In the top of the fifth, Severino retired the first two batters before walking two and falling behind 2-and-0 on Martinez. With his pitch count more than 110, manager Joe Girardi was trying to nurse Severino through the inning so he could be eligible for the win.

On 2-and-0, Severino fired a 95-mile per hour fastball by Martinez, then another at 97. After a foul ball on a slider and a 98-mph fastball inside for ball three, Severino struck out Martinez on a 97-mph heater, according to the stadium gun.

It was 98 if you were watching on YES. On Severino's 116th pitch of the night.

Another pitch that was 98: the one from Tommy Kahnle on 2-and-2 that hit Mahtook in the helmet in the sixth inning. Mahtook had already been hit in the back by a 95-mph fastball from Severino in the second. So it was probably no surprise that Mahtook reacted angrily to getting hit the second time and yelled from home plate.

Or that Fulmer plunked Jacoby Ellsbury in the back with the first pitch of the seventh.

Ellsbury shrugged it off, stole second and scored on Clint Frazier's triple to left-center. Gary Sanchez's sacrifice line drive to left gave the Yankees a 7-2 lead.

There were no ejections or further incidents.