SEATTLE — The Yankees don't have a chance to clinch a playoff berth until Wednesday night, but they're hoping for the first of two games this month.
Tuesday night felt like the night before a party.
Facing a tough challenge from right-hander Brian Woo, the Yankees came out strong, knocking him out by the fifth inning and beating the Mariners 11-2 in front of 31,668 fans at T-Mobile Park.
The Yankees (88-63), led by Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, combined for seven hits in 10 at-bats, three walks, six RBIs and seven runs, helped the team win for the eighth time in their last 11 games, reducing their magic number to one and securing a playoff berth.
With a win on Wednesday, they could become the first team in the American League to clinch a playoff berth.
With the Orioles' loss on Tuesday night, the Yankees extended their lead atop the AL East to four games with 11 games remaining, their largest lead since June 6 (a season-high 4.5 points).
“We have the blinders on,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game. “We know we're not close to where we want to be. The job's not done yet.”
But the Yankees used an offensive burst to slow the Mariners (77-74) and move one step closer to their first goal, as the Mariners were eight-of-11 winners heading into the series with a playoff berth at stake.
It also helped relieve some pressure on Luis Gil, who struggled with control but survived five innings with just one run allowed, before Marcus Stroman, making his first relief appearance of the season after being removed from the starting rotation, pitched the final three innings and earned the save despite allowing a solo home run.
Torres had a strong night both defensively and pitching, going 3-for-4 with a double and showing three sharp defensive plays at second base.
Soto (2 for 2, walks) hit his 40th home run of the season and 200th of his career with a swing in the fourth inning. It was his final home run at the 30th MLB stadium where he has yet to hit a home run.
Judge then swept away the pitchers in front of him, going 2-for-4 with 1 walk and 4 RBIs for his season total of 136.
Jason Dominguez also hit his first home run of the season to put the Yankees up 7-1 in the fifth inning and eject Wu, while Austin Wells sealed the game with a three-run double in the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Mariners, especially Victor Robles, did a great job helping Gil escape an early crisis.
Leading 2-0, Gill hit Robles' hand with his first pitch of the night, then went 3-1 and gave up two walks to load the bases with one out.
He got Luke Raley out on a pop fly for the second out, but then with Justin Turner trailing 3-0, he clearly lacked feel for the strike zone when he walked behind the mound to get a rosin bag.
Robles had a big lead from third base and was suddenly heading for home as Gil was about to throw the rosin bag back to the ground.
Gil quickly realized that Robles had started running and threw the ball home in time for Wells to slam the tag, somehow ending the inning scoreless.
The Yankees kept going from there, and in the fourth inning, Soto hit a two-run homer off Woo to extend their lead to 6-1.
With this achievement, Soto became just the third Yankees teammate to both hit 40 home runs in the same season, joining Aaron Judge, the first since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig have both accomplished this in three different seasons.
