All rise! Joltin’ Judge powers Yanks to victory
The people’s choice presides over Yanks’ victory with first career grand slam
Memorial Day is here, and the Yankees remain alone atop the AL East. If you hadn’t caught on yet, Sunday illustrated what everyone around baseball is witnessing.
Michael Pineda took another significant step in what has been a breakthrough season, the defense behind him was stellar, and of course Aaron Judge did something big, because he always seems to do something big these days.
Sunday afternoon’s 9-5, seriesclinching win over the Athletics in front of 45,232 at the Stadium perfectly encapsulated these first two months in The Bronx that have seen the Yankees emerge as one of the big surprises in baseball.
From Pineda’s ninth straight start of allowing three earned runs or less to Judge’s first career grand slam and the Yankees (29-18) manufacturing runs with their legs, it was a relaxing afternoon in The Bronx for the AL East leaders. Now they head to Baltimore for the start of 13 consecutive games against the slumping Orioles, resurgent Blue Jays, surging Red Sox before hosting the Orioles, the latest test for this group that has surpassed expectations.
Manager Joe Girardi wasn’t trying to diminish the importance of the upcoming slate, calling the next four series “big games.”
“I’m just glad we’re going in there hot,” Judge said. “We’re swinging the bat well, our pitching is doing well. Our bullpen’s coming through for us. I’m excited for these next two weeks.”
Starting pitching has keyed the fast start, and Sunday it again was a major factor. Pineda (6-2, 3.32 ERA) continued the starting rotation’s recent dominance, allowing two earned runs (three overall, thanks to his own error) on six hits and striking out five. In this six-game homestand, the Yankees starters all allowed two earned runs or less, pitching to a 1.77 ERA over 40 ²/₃ innings, which is why they went 4-2 despite the lineup’s recent issues entering Sunday. A perceived weakness entering the season has become a strength.
“They give us a chance to win every single day,” left fielder Brett Gardner said.
Khris Davis’s two-run homer in the eighth off Chad Green turned a 7-3 game into a momentarily tense 7-5 game, but relievers Tommy Layne and Adam Warren retired all five batters they faced to close out the victory, and Gardner added a two-out, two-run double as insurance in the eighth.
The hard-throwing Pineda won his third consecutive decision, thanks in large part to Judge’s thirdinning, opposite-field blast. A day after his grab of a deflection off Starlin Castro’s glove proved to be the difference he hit his 16th homer — tying Mike Trout for the most in baseball — smoking a 2-1 Andrew Triggs fastball into the bleachers in right field, near the new Judge’s Chambers seating section.
Judge, hearing occasional “M!V!P!” chants from the crowd, bailed out Castro, who had struck out with the bases loaded and one out, waving at sliders in the dirt. The young outfielder, however, got ahead in the count because he wouldn’t chase, and did damage with a pitch he could handle.
“Castro’s been carrying the team for two months now,” Judge said. “It was a huge part in the game. I was trying to pick up a teammate.”
But the Yankees didn’t rely only on power. They were aggressive, forcing the error-prone Athletics — who lead the American League with 49 errors — into mistakes.
In the second, Castro went first to third on a Didi Gregorius single to left, and scored on an Aaron Hicks sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Hicks singled, stole second, went to third on catcher Josh Phegley’s throwing error and scored on a Chris Carter sacrifice fly.
Not to be forgotten, the defense was impressive. Gardner threw out Ryon Healy trying to stretch a single into a double while Gregorius and Ronald Torreyes each made highlight-reel quality plays on the left side of the infield.
“We saw what we were capable of in spring training. We had a lot of comeback games, we put up a lot of runs in spring,” Judge said. “For us it’s just about going out there and just doing our job. It’s 25 guys pulling the same rope, and that’s what we did today.
“We’ve been doing it for two months.”