The Yankees returned to winning ways, hitting three home runs to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.
These are the main points…
– Aaron Rechter hit his 16th first-inning home run of the season, bringing his total to 41 HRs on the year, giving the Yanks a 2-1 lead. It’s tied for the third-most first-inning homers in a season in MLB history with Sweetie Ruth (1927) and Sammy Sosa (2001), only behind Alex Rodriguez‘s 18 (2001) and Mark McGwire‘s 17 (1999).
On his next at bat, Judge was intentionally walked by the Blue Jays’ starting pitcher Jose Berrios with no one on base and two outs in the bottom of the second. The last time this happened in an MLB game was on August 10, 1972, when the Angels walked the Twins catcher Glenn Borgmann (thanks to Bryan Hoch).
Toronto elected to throw Judge at bat for the third time with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but the slugger went down with a strike. Judge later walked and singled. He finished the game 2-for-3 with two hits and two RBI.
– Trent Grisham extended the Yankees lead to 4-1 in the second inning with a two-run homer to right field. It was his seventh homer of the year and first since July 14 against Baltimore, when he hit his lone long ball last month.
– Carlos Rodón allowed a two-out homerun to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first, but came back to get the third out and proceeded to retire eight straight Blue Jays in the fourth inning. Guerrero Jr. got Rodon again in the fourth, hitting a single with one out, but the left-handed pitcher was able to escape the inning without inflicting any damage.
Rodon walked George Springer to open the sixth and then strike out Joey Loperfido. Aaron Boone came to the mound for a visit, but had Rodon stay in to face Guerrero Jr. for a third time. The move backfired when the slugger doubled down the first base line, ending Rodon’s afternoon. RHP Jake Neven came for help and allowed a two-run single Alejandro Kirk, and narrowed the lead to 6-3. Rodon threw 106 pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and eight strikeouts.
– Anthony Volpe hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to give the Yanks a 6-1 lead. It was the 23-year-old’s 11th of the season, as he has now homered in back-to-back games and has five in the last 11 games since July 22. Volpe drove in an insurance run in the seventh with a single to extend the lead to 7-3. Austin Wells and drove in another single in the eighth inning, making it 8-3.
– After being benched midway through the game on Friday night, Gleyber Torres got the start at second base and batted fifth. He went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a strikeout.
– Mark Leiter Jr. came to pitch the ninth, but allowed three singles to load the bases. After getting an infield pop-up for the second out, Boone elected to Clay Holmes to get the last out. The right-hander struck out Springer to end the game.
Most Valuable Player of the Match: Aaron Judge
After Rodon allowed a solo homer to Guerrero Jr. in the top of the first, Judge’s two-run HR in the bottom half of the inning set the tone for the Yankees. They never looked back and kept hitting all afternoon. The homer even scared Toronto into intentionally walking the slugger.
Judge is now 14-for-27 (.519) in his last seven games with five home runs, 11 RBI, nine walks and 10 strikeouts.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees conclude their three-game series with the Blue Jays on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.
Gerrit Cole (3-2, 5.40 ERA) returns to the mound for New York while being RHP Yariel Rodriguez (1-4, 4.31 ERA) starts for Toronto.
