BATS MORE LIKE IT!
Girardi makes lineup swap, Yanks explode Judge finally snaps 37-game strikeout streak
DETROIT — Gary Sanchez’s arrival in The Bronx last August nearly sparked a run to the postseason for the Yankees.
They’re hoping he can finish the job this time around.
Sanchez ripped a pair of homers in Tuesday’s 13-4 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park, including a 493-foot shot in the first inning.
In his last 24 games, the catcher has gone deep 11 times, in part making up for Aaron Judge’s second-half slump.
“I think he’s probably due,” manager Joe Girardi said of Sanchez’s hot streak. “That’s who he is. He has the ability to carry a club.”
Girardi flip-flopped Sanchez and Judge in the lineup and both players responded well, as Judge reached base four times and saw his streak of 37 straight games with a strikeout come to an end.
The outburst by the lineup made for an easy night for Masahiro Tanaka, who gave up three runs in seven innings in his first start since a stint on the 10-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation.
By the time Tanaka gave up a two-run homer to Nicholas Castellanos in the seventh, the Yankees held a 10-run lead over a Tigers team that has dropped 13 of its last 16 games.
The win allowed the Yankees to stay 4½ games back of Boston in the AL East and 2½ games ahead of Minnesota for the first wild card.
If Sanchez continues to hit like he has over the last two weeks — and he showed last season that he can — and Judge regains some of the form he showed in the first half, the Yankees likely will make it to the playoffs.
On Tuesday, especially, Sanchez reminded people how good he can be.
“I hope he keeps it going and we follow his lead,” said Todd Frazier, who had three hits, including a two-run triple.
This game was unusual, though, even for Sanchez.
First, he sent a shot deep into the left-field seats off Detroit southpaw Matthew Boyd, who was rocked for seven runs in 2 ¹/3 innings. Then he sent an opposite-field shot out to right in the ninth to put the finishing touches on the win.
Afterward, it was that first shot, a 493foot blast, that had teammates talking. It was the longest ever measured by Statcast at Comerica.
Only Judge has hit one farther in the majors this year — his 495-foot home run on June 11.
“I think I’ve still got him by two feet,” said Judge, who was removed for pinchhitter Jacoby Ellsbury in the seventh. “That was pretty impressive, but I can brag.” Sanchez agreed. “When I hit that ball, I knew I hit it well, but I had no clue it went that far,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “You guys know and I know that he has way more power than me. That’s not up for debate here. I don’t think I can even hit another ball like that. The comparison is not really there.”
Aaron Hicks, who had been 1-for-19 on the road trip, smacked his 13th home run of the year in the seventh, a two-run shot.
It was a much-needed laugher for the Yankees after they dropped two of three to the Red Sox in Boston over the weekend.
Coming off Monday’s off-day, the Yankees began a final sprint of 39 games in 41 days.
“The stretch we just went through was important,’’ Girardi said. “But even though we don’t directly face Boston, we still have a chance to make up ground if they lose. … You understand you run out of time to catch someone.”