Yankees crush Mariners to trim playoff magic number to one

SEATTLE — The Yankees will not have a chance to secure a playoff spot until Wednesday night, which they hope is the first of two clinchers this month. Tuesday night felt like a pregame to the party. Facing a tough test in right-hander Bryan Woo, the Yankees went to town and knocked him out of the game by the fifth inning on the way to an 11-2 win over the Mariners in front of 31,668 at T-Mobile Park. Fueled by a big night from the top of their order — Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge combined to go 7-for-10 with three walks, six RBIs and seven runs scored — the Yankees (88-63) won for the eighth time in their past 11 games and trimmed their magic number to one to clinch a playoff spot.With a win Wednesday, they can become the first team in the American League to wrap up a playoff berth. With the Orioles losing earlier on Tuesday night, the Yankees also extended their lead atop the AL East to four games — the largest it has been since June 6 (when it was a season-high 4 ½) — with 11 games to play. “Blinders on,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game.

“We understand we’re not even close to where we want to be yet.The job’s not complete.” But the Yankees inched closer to their first goal by putting together an offensive outburst that cooled off the Mariners (77-74), who had won eight of 11 coming into the series while fighting for their playoff lives. It also helped take some of the pressure off Luis Gil, who struggled with his command but made it through five innings of one-run ball before Marcus Stroman — in his first relief appearance of the season after being bounced from the rotation — threw the final three innings, allowing a solo home run and recording the save. Torres had a strong night on both sides of the ball, going 3-for-4 with a double and turning in three sharp defensive plays at second base. In one swing in the fourth inning, Soto (2-for-2, two walks) crushed his 40th home run of the season and the 200th ...