Judge homers twice in Yankees 11-5 win over Jays

The Yankees will not win every for the rest of the season. As great as this young team is, and as surprising as they are atop the A.L. East they will run into trouble occasionally. That happened last night, when the Yankee offense was shut down, and the young righty Luis Severino looked human. Tonight, however the Yankee bats looked to return the favor and even the series. For Toronto, Mat Latos (0-0, 3.27 ERA) was on the hill. Latos coming off a solid start against St. Louis, was looking to stifle the Yankee offense and pick up his first win on the young season. For the Bombers, their ace Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 4.20 ERA) took the hill looking to build off his dominant outing against the rival Red Sox where he pitched a complete game shutout.

Photo Credit: AP Photo KathyWillens

What a difference a day makes for both teams as the Yankees were able to give Tanaka run support right off the bat. After a scoreless top half of the inning, Matt Holliday doubled on a line drive to left field bringing in Brett Gardner. Holliday has been producing as of late, and while he still looks like he is swinging a garden hose at times, his power in the designated hitter spot is needed.

Coming back out in the bottom of the second inning, the Yankees gave Tanaka all the run support he would need tonight. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run blast to right field which brought in Aaron Judge, and Gardner followed with a line drive homer to the short porch which brought in Chris Carter. After two, the good guys were ahead 5-0.

On a beautiful evening in the Bronx, it was great to see the Yankee bats working. Hitting is contagious, and that was evident tonight as the entire starting lineup managed to get a hit scoring in each of the first four innings. Big Aaron Judge continued his promising start in the bottom of the third, hitting his shortest home run of the season (337 ft) to right field.  Gardner kept pace with his fellow Yankee hitting a solo shot to right center field to make the score 7-0 after four. With Tanaka on the mound, one would not think the Yankees needed more run support. However, the Blue Jays finally got on the board during the top of the fifth inning with Steve Pearce hitting his first home run on the season to left field, followed by a two-run shot to left field by Chris Coghlan. The score after five remained 7-2.

Photo Credit: AP Photo Kathy Willens

With Judge taking much of the headlines this season, many players have been forced to take a backseat. And whether that is in the likes of the struggling Greg Bird, who is now on the DL or the solid Chase Headley, everyone is enjoying what the kid is doing. Headley continued his solid start during the bottom of the sixth inning by hitting a line drive single to center field which brought in Austin Romine. Romine unfortunately, left the game with tightness in his right groin, and the Yankees are confident they caught it early enough that it will not be serious. With the Bombers up 8-2 in the top of the seventh, it was clear Tanaka was not going to be able to pitch a full game tonight.  Pearce hit his second home run of the evening, and on a rare balk Devon Travis was able to score making it 8-4 after seven, and Tanaka’s night was done.

Photo Credit: AP Photo Kathy Willens

The legend Derek Jeter appreciates what Judge is doing this season, but he was clear in saying to let him be himself. Well, that is what the kid continues to do. In the bottom of the seventh inning, game in hand, after a ten pitch at-bat, Judge hit a towering blast to left center field to put the nail in the coffin and gave the Yankees an 11-4 lead. Ryan Goins would groundout to score Justin Smoak in the top of the eighth, but this night belonged to Judge and the Bombers. At 16-9, the Yankees find themselves in a tie for first again. Quality at bats, team baseball, and a young nucleus have these Bombers battling in what looks to be a competitive A.L. East.

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Tomorrow the Bombers close out the series against the Jays 7:05 PM ET with C.C. Sabathia (2-1, 4.34 ERA) on the hill looking to rebound off his last start against the Orioles. For Toronto, right hander Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.97 ERA) takes the mound in the rubber game of the series.

Winning Pitcher: Masahiro Tanaka: (4-1, 4.46 ERA): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Losing Pitcher: Mat Latos: (0-1, 6.60 ERA): 4.0 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Notables:

Matt Holliday: 3-4, 2B, RBI

Brett Gardner: 3-5, 2 HR (3,4), 3 RBI, 3 R

Aaron Hicks: 2-5, HR (5), 2 RBI, R

Aaron Judge: 2-3, 2 HR (11,12), 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB
Chase Headley: 2-5, RBI

Starlin Castro: 2-5, R

Article by: Randy Hancock

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