After rough start, Andrew Heaney able to find himself

Aaron Boone was ready to give Andrew Heaney the hook.

The lefthander had allowed four runs in the first two innings and didn’t look as if he’d be able to find his rhythm Saturday. In a perfect world, he already would have been out of the game, Boone said.

Good thing for imperfect worlds.

Despite a rocky start and a rocky debut for the Yankees before that, Heaney was able to change course, adjusting his mechanics in-game and saving the bullpen a day after the Yankees had used nine pitchers in a win over the Mariners.

After the Yankees' 5-4 victory, Boone called Heaney’s reversal "huge" and Aaron Judge called him the player of the game. He also was called the winning pitcher after the Yankees rallied for four runs in the sixth inning, giving him his first win with his new team after being dealt by the Angels ahead of the trade deadline.

"Coming over to a new team, I want to do my best to help us win baseball games, prove that I’m going to dig deep, I’m going to battle," said Heaney, who allowed four solo home runs in four innings in his debut last Monday and gave up a two-run homer by Kyle Seager in the first inning Saturday.

"You know, the first two innings were terrible and I don’t want that to be any indication of what I can do here . . . Winning a game here as a Yankee in a playoff race? [Expletive], that’s what you dream. That’s what you want to do."

Heaney retired 14 of the last 16 batters to face him and even asked to pitch the seventh, Boone said. He ended up allowing four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in six innings.

"I was thinking at some point, Anthony Rizzo was going to be pitching," Boone said of watching the first two innings. "He’s a hitter away from going out. Normally, I wouldn’t even let him go that long in the second, but obviously, our situation today, we needed it and he stepped up and settled into a rhythm and a groove."

Kluber makes progress

Corey Kluber (shoulder strain) pitched live batting practice before Saturday’s game, throwing 42 pitches in a simulated two innings. "I thought he looked good," Boone said. "He got a little tired at the end, but his shapes, his stuff was good . . . The shapes on his cutter, slider were really good . . . A really good step for him and now we’ll see how he bounces back tomorrow."

Boone said he isn't sure about Kluber’s next steps, adding that he might throw another live BP session or get into a rehab game.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.