Yankees 11, Mariners 2: The once and future outfield

I know the pitch clock has affected my subconscious when I'm annoyed a ballgame actually took three hours. We saw 13 runs cross the plate in the Yankees 11-2 win over the Mariners, but 180 minutes just seems too long these days!

Now for our East Coast friends, if you went to bed before the game ended, you at least saw most of the dramatics early. The Yankees put up a lead against Bryan Woo before Luis Gil even threw a pitch, with both Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto reaching base ahead of the game's best player:

That two-run double from Aaron Judge was almost immediately threatened when Gil hit Victor Robles on the hand with his first pitch, and proceeded to load the bases before facing down Justin Turner with two out. The count ran to 3-0 and there were serious concerns of a huge inning for Seattle.

Whether Robles just really wanted to get some ice on his hand or saw something he thought was there, I don't know, but all of a sudden, the Mariner was breaking for the plate.

I do not think this was a good idea on Robles' part. It got the Yankees out of the inning, and Judge made the M's pay for the free out:

Jorge Polanco did get one back with a solo shot off Gil in the bottom half of the second, so in total we saw 5 runs scored, 11 baserunners, and a caught stealing of home all in the first couple innings. You'd be forgiven for needing a cigarette.

On the whole, Gil limited damage well, but it was definitely a grind for him. He had thrown 76 pitches through the first three, and walked three on the night. I'm not sure what the pregame meeting would have went over, but he really seemed to focus on his secondary pitches early in the count the first time through the order, and later settled down with more fastballs.

Still, one run over five innings will play. Gil's had more starts than anyone in baseball allowing one run or fewer. You worry about the free passes and the traffic that always seems to follow him around in every start, and the risk that one deep fly ball would blow the game open, but so far that hasn't happened.

We got a wonderful preview of the potential 2025 Yankee outfield, with Judge driving in four runs and some big hits from his two lil' bros:

That was Jasson Domínguez's first home run of the year, and a delightfully round number for Soto — his 40th of 2024, the 200th of his already stellar career, and the 30th ballpark he's gone deep in, T-Mobile being the last park to check off.

The Yankees as a whole did an excellent job of handling a tough customer on the mound in Woo. The 24-year-old entered play with a 2.38 ERA, 3.34 FIP, and 0.823 WHIP in 19 starts, but New York roughed the righty up for seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work.

Austin Wells had the final big hit of the game, a bases-clearing double off reliever Austin Voth that only boosted his very strong Rookie of the Year case.

Marcus Stroman, in a potential playoff preview, threw the final three innings of the game for the save, giving up one run on a solo shot to Luke Raley.

This was a perfect start to this six-game West Coast trip, and with the Orioles' loss the Yankees move to four full games over Baltimore in the race for the AL East. It's their largest lead since June 6th . Tomorrow, New York can clinch a playoff berth with a win, and Nestor Cortes will be the guy tasked with delivering that win against righty Bryce Miller. Amazon Prime carries Wednesday's action, with a 9:40pm Eastern first pitch.