Luis Gil dominant again as Yankees blank Mariners, 5-0

The Yankees earned a four-game series split with the Seattle Mariners, winning 5-0 on Thursday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways…

–Luis Gil, coming off a 14-strikeout performance against the Chicago White Sox his last time out, was once again excellent. The right-hander allowed just one hit through 6.1 innings, with that hit being an infield single that couldn’t be handled by Anthony Volpe. Gil struck out eight hitters and walked two, lowering his season ERA to 2.11.

Gil, who didn’t even figure to be in the Yankees rotation until Gerrit Cole was shut down with an injury, set a new Yankees record by recording his 11th straight start of at least 5.0 innings and two earned runs or less. He received a nice ovation from the crowd as he walked off the mound.

-The Yankees got strong contributions from their big bats. Fist, Giancarlo Stanton blasted a solo shot 445 feet to dead center off of Luis Castillo in the second inning. Aaron Judge, who had a multi-hit game and now has 33 hits in his last 25 games, homered in the third, and Juan Soto drove in a run with an RBI single in the seventh.

When the Yankees have their key sluggers producing at the same time, their lineup is as formidable as it comes.

This also marked the 40^th time that both Stanton and Judge have homered in the same game.

-Every Yankee in the startling lineup had at least one hit, except Anthony Rizzo, who still added an RBI and also reached by getting hit by a pitch. Volpe, Judge, and Oswaldo Cabrera all had multi-hit performances.

–Clay Holmes came in to pitch in a non-save situation in the ninth. After allowing four earned runs in a loss to the M’s on Monday (the first runs the closer had allowed all season), Holmes allowed a pair of singles, but he also struck out two hitters to secure the 5-0 win.

Who was the game MVP?

Gil, whose 2.11 ERA is the best among all Yankees starters.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees hit the road for a nine-game West Coast swing, starting with a three-game weekend series against the San Diego Padres.

Carlos Rodon faces Yu Darvish on Friday night, with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m.