Here come da Judge ... here come da Yankees
Rookie hits homer, dazzles in field as N.Y. downs Astros
NEW YORK — Back in the Bronx, the big guys delivered.
Greeted by an array of “All Rise” signs in a ballpark that fits their style, Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer and made a pair of sparkling catches, leading CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees over the Houston Astros 8-1 Monday night and cutting their deficit to 2-1 in the American League Championship Series.
Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead, three-run homer into the short porch in right field in the second against Charlie Morton.
The 6-foot-7-inch Judge entered in a 4-for-31 (.129) postseason slump that included one homer, four RBIS and 19 strikeouts. The slugger capped a five-run fourth with a laser of a drive to left field off Will Harris and robbed Yuri Gurriel and Cameron Maybin of extra-base hits.
Sabathia, almost as big at
6-6, allowed three hits over six scoreless innings for his first postseason win in five years.
The Yankees stopped a seven-game ALCS losing streak dating to Sabathia’s victory over Texas in 2010 — when Judge had just started his freshman year at Fresno State.
After a pair of 2-1 losses in Houston, the Yankees led 8-0 after four innings. The Yankees are 4-0 at home this postseason.
“Just the energy, the fans,” Sabathia said. “They’ve been bringing it every night in the playoffs
and you can feed off of that.”
Houston scored on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth before postseason star Jose Altuve grounded into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.
Sonny Gray starts Game 4 for New York in the best-of-7 series on 11 days’ rest Wednesday against Lance Mccullers Jr.
Frazier got the Yankees rolling,takinganawkwardhackata low, outside fastball and slicing it into the seats.
“That was unorthodox, but I’ll take a hundred like that,” Frazier said. “The wind was going a little crazy.”
Judge used his height and long left arm to make a leaping catch with his left shoulder slamming into the right-field wall against Yuri Gurriel starting the fourth.
Being a rookie, he politely waited outside the dugout for all the veterans to descend the steps after the third out — as he always does — then capped a five-run bottom half with a laser of a line drive that just cleared the left-field wall.
Then in the fifth, he sprinted into short right for a diving backhand catch on Cameron Maybin in the fifth.