SEATTLE’S BEST: Robinson Cano (center) celebrates with Brett Gardner (right) and Jayson Nix after launching a three-run homer in the Yankees six-run third inning, which was more than enough support for Phil Hughes (inset), who allowed three hits and an unearned run over seven-plus innings in the Yankees’ 6-1 win. (
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SEATTLE — There are games when you watch Phil Hughes and wonder why he has never developed into a consistent front-end starter for the Yankees.
Nights when you envision the Yankees easily retaining the right-hander beyond the end of this season when he becomes a free agent. Games when you wonder if the people who believe Michael Pineda will replace Hughes should be drug tested.
Unfortunately for Hughes and the Yankees there haven’t been enough nights like last evening when he helped the Yankees beat the Mariners, 6-1, in front of a quaint gathering of 18,776 at Safeco Field.
Staked to a 6-0 lead in the third when Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back homers off Aaron Harang, Hughes cruised through seven innings on the way to improving to 3-4.
“I thought I had my stuff a lot better than my last couple of starts,” said Hughes, who is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA in five games (three starts) at pitcher-friendly Safeco. “It just made things a lot easier. I could just pitch with my fastball more,’’
Before the game manager Joe Girardi talked of the importance of Hughes avoiding deep counts and he accomplished that.
“He mixed his pitches extremely well and stayed out of long counts,’’ Girardi said.
It was quite a difference from Hughes previous outing last Saturday when the Red Sox punished him in an 11-1 victory at Yankee Stadium. In 4 1/3 innings Hughes gave up five runs and seven hits.
The victory was the Yankees’ fourth straight and kept them
1 1/2 games back of the AL East-leading Red Sox.
After devouring Harang (2-6) for six runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings (all the hits and runs in the third) the Yankees get to feast tonight on Jeremy Bonderman who has pitched one major league game since 2010.
The 30-year-old right-hander and former Tiger, gave up seven runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings to the Twins this past Sunday.
Despite his inconsistencies Hughes, who makes $7.15 million this season, will draw significant interest as a free agent. He will be 27 later this month and has a big league record to 55-40.
Hughes only trouble spot surfaced in the sixth when Brendan Ryan, the No. 9 hitter, led off with a walk and Kyle Seager singled to center with one out. Hughes stiffened to pop up Raul Ibanez and Kendrys Morales to strand two runners.
After giving up at least one homer in the previous five starts (seven overall) Hughes kept the ball in the park. In seven-plus innings Hughes allowed a run and three hits.
Girardi decided 111 pitches were enough for Hughes and replaced him with Preston Claiborne following a leadoff walk to Kelly Shoppach in the eighth.
Claiborne induced Brendan Ryan to force Shoppach at second with a grounder to short but when third baseman Kevin Youkilis was charged with a fielding error on Jason Bay’s grounder, Girardi called for lefty Boone Logan to face left-handed hitter Kyle Seager and he doubled to right and produce the Mariners’ first run.
With David Robertson throwing in the bullpen, Logan fanned Raul Ibanez and kept Robertson in the pen by striking out the switch-hitting Kendrys Morales.
The Yankees scored all their runs in the third when they got eight of the nine hits.
“It helps to get a lead early. Kind of can relax a little bit and go after guys. When you have that lead, it makes things a little easier. I tried to figure stuff out,’’ Hughes said.
When you see games like last night it’s Hughes entire body of Yankees work that is hard to figure out.
george.king@nypost.com