JUDGE HITS 45TH HOMER, YOUNG GIRL HIT BY FOUL BALL AS YANKS TOP TWINS

YORK» Aaron Judge hit his AL-leading NEW

45th home run and topped 100 RBIs, Didi Gregorius surpassed Derek Jeter for the most season home runs (25) by a Yankees shortstop and New York beat the Twins 11-3 on Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

The game was briefly halted in the fifth inning when a foul ball down the thirdbase line off the bat of Todd Frazier struck a young girl. The protective netting at Yankee Stadium ends at the home plate side of each dugout, and the team said in July it is “seriously exploring” extending the netting for 2018.

The Yankees said the girl was taken to a hospital for treatment, and New York manager Joe Girardi said he had been told by team security that she was OK.

The Yankees, who have won 10 of 12, began the day three games behind AL East-leading Boston. They opened a seven-game advantage over the Twins for the top AL wild card with 10 games remaining.

Minnesota started 1½ games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the league’s last playoff berth. The Twins have lost five of six and were outscored 18-6 in the three-game series.

WEDNESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Adam Frazier hit a two-run homer off Milwaukee closer Corey Knebel with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Pirates to a 6-4 victory over the Brewers. … Dexter Fowler homered for the third straight game while Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong also homered as the Cardinals gained ground in their National League playoff push with a 9-2 win over the Reds. … Chris Sale struck out 13 to become the first AL pitcher in 18 years to reach the 300 mark, and the Red Sox moved to the brink of clinching a playoff berth by beating the Orioles 9-0. … Giancarlo Stanton hit his major league-leading 56th homer and drove in three runs as the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the Mets by winning 9-2. … Daniel Mengden pitched seven scoreless innings, and Marcus Semien homered and drove in three runs, leading the Athletics to a 3-2 win and three-game sweep of the Tigers .… Blake Snell gave up two hits in seven shutout innings and the Rays ended the Cubs’ season-best seven-game winning streak 8-1. … Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino issued three bases-loaded walks in the sixrun eighth, Gio Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings and the Nationals beat Atlanta 7-3. … Mike Moustakas hit his 37th home run of the season, breaking Steve Balboni’s Royals record, Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield also connected and Kansas City routed the Blue Jays 15-5. … Aaron Altherr hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth after launching a tying, two-run homer an inning earlier and the Phillies beat the slumping Dodgers 7-5. The Dodgers have lost four straight and 20 of 25. … Yuli Gurriel had three hits, including a two-run double, Brad Peacock threw six solid innings and the Astros extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-3 win over the

FOOTNOTES

Estrada signs one-year, $13 million contract to stay with Jays.

Pitcher Marco Estrada has signed a one-year, $13 million contract to remain with the Blue Jays in 2018. … The rebuilding Padres and lefthander Clayton Richard agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract that runs through 2019.