Yankees sweep Mariners after 4-3 victory Thursday

The Yankees (50-22) continued to roll after sweeping the Mariners in a three-game set following their 4-3 victory on Thursday. Aaron Judge & Miguel Andujar provided the power this time around, and another stellar performance by the bullpen backed Luis Severino, who earned his 11th victory of the season.

Severino was not his usual dominant self, scattering eight hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings. He did enough to keep the team in the game and pass the baton to the bullpen, which was able to slam the door shut once again. David Robertson, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman combined to toss 3 1/3 innings, allowing no runs and just one hit over that span while striking out four. Betances clearly did not have his best stuff, but did touch 100 MPH on the radar gun several times and was able to overcome his control issues in the eighth. Chapman, in typical fashion, made it interesting after allowing a baserunner, but then shut it down after that.

The theme of this series, and of the last handful of games, continues to be next man up. After Giancarlo Stanton's walk-off home run on Wednesday, Judge and Andujar carried the load offensively on Thursday. Judge blasted his 19th and Andujar his 10th off Mariners starter James Paxton. This game did not have a "no-doubter" feel to it, but the team continues to show they have enough firepower up-and-down the lineup to get the job done on any given day.

Austin Romine also put his stamp on this game by gunning down pinch-runner Guillermo Heredia in the eighth to end the inning. Romine continues to grow as both an offensive and defensive player and has earned his increased role behind the plate.

The first place Yankees will head to Tampa for a three-game set with the Rays as they look to build on their 2.5 game lead on the Red Sox in the division.