PHILADELPHIA _ Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge had the fans "oohing" and "aahing" during Tuesday's batting practice, taking turns launching baseballs at Citizens Bank Park.
If this was a mini Home Run Derby between Yankees sluggers, Stanton won the long-distance portion of the contest.
Stanton clobbered one that cleared the second deck in left center, striking the lower part of a light tower _ the only thing preventing the ball from leaving the park entirely.
But when the interleague game against the Phillies began, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius provided the homers. And starter Luis Severino gave the Yankees everything else they needed to secure a 6-0 win.
Severino (12-2) threw seven sharp, shutout innings, on a night when Phillies' right-hander Jake Arrieta (5-6) was roughed up for six runs in five innings _ though all three of the Yankees' third-inning runs were unearned.
Now, the Yankees (52-25) will go for a three-game sweep of the Phillies (41-36) on Wednesday night, with Luis Cessa scheduled to make his first start of the year.
Severino's next start could be on regular rest Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, in the finale of their upcoming series against the second-place Red Sox.
Using 103 pitches on Tuesday, Severino scattered six hits, walked none and struck out nine Phillies.
Severino was still zipping 98 mph fastballs and unleashing sharp sliders in the sixth and seventh, giving a break to a taxed bullpen that was likely without David Robertson and Dellin Betances (having pitched in each of the previous two games).
Hicks finished his night with a spectacular leaping catch in center, robbing Rhys Hopkins of an extra-base hit to end the eighth.
Hicks led off the game with a long home run to center on a 2-and-0 pitch.
In a 1-for-11 slide entering the night, Hicks singled sharply in the Yankees' three-run third and delivered a long sacrifice fly to right in the fourth, scoring Austin Romine (double).
Gregorius launched his 15th homer of the year to lead off the fifth, giving the Yanks a 6-0 lead.
Stanton's first at-bat produced a 20-foot infield single, his eighth hit over his last nine at-bats to that point.
Stanton's next single traveled about 360 feet.
Leading off the seventh inning, Stanton lashed a ball so hard off the right-center field wall that he was easily out attempting to stretch it to a double.
Stanton struck out in his final at-bat, swinging wildly at an outside breaking pitch _ after which he emphatically slapped the barrel of his bat.
Arrieta should have been out of the third inning, trailing just 1-0.
But the Phillies botched an easy, potential double play on a Gregorius grounder that led to a three-run inning.
With runners at first and second, Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez made a wide flip to shortstop Scott Kingery, loading the bases.
Arrieta followed by striking out Stanton, but Gleyber Torres and Greg Bird made the Hernandez error sting.
Torres grounded a hard, two-run single to left and Bird served a soft, RBI single to left for a 4-0 lead.
Bird had flied out his first time up on Tuesday, putting him in an 0-for-15 stretch _ and just 7-for-55 (.127) _ before his third-inning single. Bird also walked and was hit in the back with a breaking pitch.
Though third baseman Brandon Drury is getting "some more reps" as a first baseman at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, manager Aaron Boone said before the game that Drury is not considered an immediate option to play some first base with the Yankees.
"That's not something that's on the front burner for us right now," Boone said, acknowledging that Drury is performing well and "we're constantly evaluating" players.
The versatile Drury, batting .321 in 45 games at Triple-A, can also play second base and the outfield.
