The New York Yankees completed a four-game Subway Series sweep of the Mets with a 7-5 victory at Citi Field on Thursday night thanks to strong performances from Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez, and decided to troll their cross-town rivals on Twitter following the sweep.
Shortly after their win on Thursday, the Bombers tweeted a photo of their four victories — the first two of which came at Yankee Stadium — and then captioned it “bend the knee,” a phrase from the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. The Yankees even added a crown emoji to their taunt to render the message they were attempting to relay as clear as possible: we are the kings of baseball in New York. The phrase is spoken by Emilia Clarke’s character Daenerys Targaryen several times.
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Sanchez drove in five runs on Thursday, while Severino rebounded from the worst start of his career. Last weekend, the Dominican right-hander allowed a career-high ten runs (eight earned) to the Boston Red Sox. On Thursday, Severino struck out nine and surrendered just one unearned run and four hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn his fifth victory in six starts. He also recorded his first Major League hit.
“I was ahead in the count almost all the time,” said Severino, who is 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break. “I tried to do that. I think the last time, I tried to pitch around the batters. This time, I just went after them.”
Sanchez smacked a three-run homer off Matz in the first inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead and added a two-run single in the fourth off Chasen Bradford.
Matz tied a career high with seven runs (six earned) allowed, lasting just 3 1/3 innings and losing his sixth consecutive decision.
Thursday marked only the second time since inter-league play started in 1997 that the Yankees swept a season series against the Mets. The Bombers swept the Mets in six games in 2003.
The Yankees (65-55) are second in the American League East, just four games behind Boston. They also hold a 3.5-game lead over the Angels for the first Wild Card spot in the AL.
The Bombers will next begin a three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery is expected to start for the Yankees against Drew Pomeranz at 7:10 pm EST.
The Mets (53-66), meanwhile, are fourth in the National League East, 19 games behind the first-place Nationals. Sandy Alderson’s team next host the Miami Marlins on Friday at 7:10 pm EST for the opener of a three-game series. Rookie Chris Flexen will start against lefty Justin Nicolino.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 17: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees connects on a first inning 3-run home run against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 17, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
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