Beat up Ray & Jays, could wrap up playoff spot tonight
The Yankees bounced back in style Thursday. After their first loss in a week and first game without a home run in 20 games, the Bomber blasted five home runs — four off 2021 American League Cy Young front-runner Robbie Ray — and powered to a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays and a big step closer to clinching a playoff spot.
With two home runs from Aaron Judge, whose bat has carried this offense most of the season, the Yankees shrunk their “magic number” to clinch a playoff spot to two. The Yankees (91-68) took the series from the Blue Jays, and now hold a two-game advantage over the Red Sox (89-70) and Mariners (89-70) for the top Wild Card spot with three games left. Boston lost again to Baltimore, with the help of a home run from Tyler Nevin, the son of Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin. Seattle was idle on Thursday. Toronto (88-71) is one game out of the second spot.
Those three remaining games, however, come against the Rays, who already clinched their second straight American League East title, beginning Friday night.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We keep saying the job’s not finished, it’s gonna keep going and they are some big games,” Judge said. “And even if we can clinch tomorrow and we still got two more home games and now we want that home-field advantage.”
That comes with the top AL Wild Card spot and Judge certainly set the tone early on Thursday.
Judge blasted a first inning, two-out home run off Ray. It was his longest of the year at 455 feet.
Even other major leaguers were in awe.
“The home run was amazing, just dead center like that. I felt like it hit the hotel, but I mean I think also too, we do a really good job of not getting too high just because we score one run off (Ray),” Rizzo said. “The game is never over. And even when we’re down like we were, we all know we’re capable of putting up a four spot or a crooked number any given inning.”
Ray gave up just four hits Thursday night. Unfortunately for Ray, who still leads the American League in ERA and strikeouts, they were all home runs. Judge hit two solo shots off him, Rizzo had another solo homer and Gleyber Torres had a two-run shot.
Brett Gardner got in the last licks with a solo shot off Jullian Merryweather in the top of the ninth.
To emphasize how tough Ray was, after giving up a leadoff walk in the second inning to Gary Sanchez, the Blue Jays’ lefty ace then retired 13 straight Yankees.
But then Rizzo tagged him for his 250th career home run, his 21st of the season and his seventh since being traded to the Yankees at the July 30 deadline. Judge hit his second of the night and 39th of the season right behind Rizzo in the sixth and after a walk to Stanton. Torres later hit his ninth of the season to chase Ray.
While he has recently been overshadowed by Giancarlo Stanton’s scorching hot streak, Judge is having an amazing year. He went into Thursday night’s game slashing .285/.371/.537 with a .908 OPS. He’s driven in 97 runs.
But perhaps the most important numbers are the 144 games he has played and the 617 plate appearances he has made. After years with injuries interrupting his production, Judge has remained healthy and in the lineup — even playing these last three games after dislocating his pinky finger Sunday night.
You would not have known it when he made the run-saving, diving catch with a runner on second in the bottom of the second to keep the game tied at 1.
“That one that one didn’t feel too good but in my head you know we got a runner in scoring position, if that falls n, they’re gonna score another run and for me games are rarely won in the ninth inning,” Judge said. “Games are won in the third inning on a ball that gets by or somebody gets a single and scored somebody. For me I’ll just kind of picture in my head like this is this would be the ballgame right here you got to go out there and make a play. Luckily I was able to get to it on time and secure and hold on to it.
“And the pinky held on.”