Yanks back stellar German with 4 HRs, beat Mariners 7-2

NEW YORK (AP) — In their first road test against baseball’s top team, the upstart Seattle Mariners were no match for the Yankees’ pitching and power.

Domingo German tossed two-hit ball over a career-high seven innings and Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York’s four home runs Tuesday night in a 7-2 victory against the Mariners.

“A lot of fun,” Stanton said. “We were clicking on all cylinders.”

Miguel Andujar and Aaron Hicks each belted a two-run shot off Marco Gonzales in the fifth. Hicks homered for the third straight day and finished with three hits from the leadoff spot as the Yankees (48-22) moved a season-best 26 games above .500.

Coming off a four-hit game, Stanton sent a solo drive to straightaway center field in the first. Aaron Judge had an RBI single in the seventh, and rookie phenom Gleyber Torres added his 14th home run in the eighth.

The first two batters reached against German (2-4) on a double and an error. The rookie right-hander then retired 19 in a row until Nelson Cruz homered in the seventh.

“Dominating, man. Just pounding the zone, blowing it by guys and just showing what he can do,” Stanton said.

After beating Tampa Bay for his first major league win last week, German was impressive once again. Featuring a sharp breaking ball, he struck out nine and walked none while throwing 67 of 96 pitches for strikes.

“I even kicked around sending him back out there for the eighth because he was just so efficient,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s really talented.”

German has 28 strikeouts in his last three starts, a span of 19 innings.

“He was throwing everything. Changeup, curveball — he was commanding everything,” Cruz said. “He kept us off balance. It seems like we were late with fastballs, early with breaking pitches. It was his day.”

A.J. Cole worked two perfect innings to complete a crisp game that took just 2 hours, 28 minutes. New York has won 15 of 19 overall.

One of baseball’s biggest surprises so far, the Mariners (46-27) lost for only the eighth time in 30 games as they opened a 10-game trip to the East Coast that could serve as an early summer measuring stick. Three games at Yankee Stadium will be followed by three in Boston — the top two teams in the majors.