Judge hits 2 HRS as Yankees sweep
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aaron Judge homered twice to run his long-ball streak to three straight games, added the tying RBI on a groundout in the seventh inning and helped the New York Yankees rally past the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Sunday for their third consecutive series sweep and ninth straight win.
Judge has hit five home runs in his last five games and eight this season.
Clarke Schmidt (2-2) pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Yankees starter Luis Severino. Aroldis Chapman left the tying run on base in the ninth inning to earn his sixth save on the year and 20th in a row.
Judge returned from a scheduled day off to connect off Daniel Lynch for a drive estimated at 453 feet to center in the first inning. He added another no-doubt shot in the ninth.
The Yankees, riding the longest winning streak in the majors, improved to 16-6. It’s only the fourth time since 1959 that the 27-time World Series champions have won at least 16 of their first 22 games.
Angels 6, White Sox 5: Mike Trout homered, doubled and scored three runs, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the ninth inning and Los Angeles held off host Chicago for its seventh win in eight games. Shohei Ohtani had an RBI as the Angels’ designated hitter. The two-way AL MVP went 0-for-3 and exited in the ninth inning because of tightness in his right groin. The Japanese-born star said he expects to play on Monday in Chicago against the White Sox.
Dodgers 6, Tigers 3: Walker Buehler pitched five scoreless innings and Los Angeles beat visiting Detroit, overcoming Miguel Cabrera’s 503rd career home run and his first this season.
Cubs 2, Brewers 0: Marcus Stroman threw two-hit ball for seven innings, outpitching Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and leading Chicago to a win at Milwaukee.
Guardians 7, Athletics 3: Triston Mckenzie threw 61⁄3 scoreless innings, and Cleveland completed its first sweep in Oakland in 22 years.
Orioles 9, Red Sox 5: Jordan Lyles pitched six gritty innings, Rougned Odor homered in a six-run sixth and Baltimore beat visiting Boston.
Twins 9, Rays 3: Jorge Polanco drove in four runs, Carlos Correa had his fourth consecutive multi-hit game and Minnesota won at Tampa Bay.
Rockies 10, Reds 1: Kyle Freeland tossed seven strong innings for his first win of the season, and host Colorado completed a series sweep of Cincinnati.
Padres 5, Pirates 2: Joe Musgrove struck out eight over seven solid innings and San Diego defeated host Pittsburgh.
Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 5: Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado homered in the seventh inning to help St. Louis rally past visiting Arizona.
Nationals 11, Giants 5: Yadiel Hernandez drove in five runs to help Washington rout host San Francisco.
Mariners 7, Marlins 3: Julio Rodriguez hit his first major league homer and Seattle ended host Miami’s seven-game winning streak.