JUDGE HITS 2 MORE IN DEFEAT
Ramon Urias hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning off Gerrit Cole and the Baltimore Orioles withstood Aaron Judge’s two home runs to beat the host Yankees 6-4 Monday night and send New York to its season-high third straight loss.
Earlier, Major League Baseball suspended Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount after he made multiple references to Jackie Robinson while talking to White Sox star Tim Anderson on Saturday. Shortly before the penalty was announced, the Yankees put Donaldson on the COVID-19 injured list.
Urias started Baltimore’s four-run third with a double down the left field line, then snapped a 4-all tie by lining an 0-1 fastball to the short porch in right field off Cole (4-1).
The Yankees, who began the day with the best record in the majors, are on their first three-game losing streak since dropping seven straight last September. Before getting swept in Sunday’s doubleheader to the White Sox and losing their second straight to the Orioles, the Yankees had won 24 of 29.
Judge upped his major league-leading home run total to 17, five ahead of Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez
and Angels star Mike Trout. Judge hit his 31st and 32nd career homers against Baltimore pitching when he connected in the first and fifth off Jordan Lyles (3-4).
It was Judge’s 20th career multi-homer game, fourth this season and seventh in his career against the Orioles.
Judge hit a solo homer six pitches in, sending a 1-1 offering into Baltimore’s bullpen in left-center. He then hit a tying, two-run homer in the fifth, two innings after Cole allowed four runs.
Cole entered the game with a 1.67 ERA in his previous five outings and allowed a season-worst five runs and seven hits in eight innings. He struck out 11 for his 49th career double-digit strikeout game.
Robinson Chirinos hit an
RBI double, Austin Hays hit a two-run single that gave Baltimore its first lead and Ryan Mountcastle capped the third-inning rally with an RBI groundout. Chirinos also added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Lyles survived becoming the latest Baltimore pitcher to be taken deep by Judge and allowed four runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Felix Bautista followed Lyles’ season-high 117-pitch outing and struck out Giancarlo Stanton with two on after walking Judge.
Bautista also tossed a perfect eighth and Jorge Lopez converted his fifth save.
Jose Trevino hit an RBI single in the second for New York’s other run following a fielding error by shortstop
Chris Owings, who dropped a throw Mountcastle from first on a force play.
Notable
The hearing on Trevor Bauer’s attempt to overturn his unprecedented two-year suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy began Monday before an arbitrator. Bauer was suspended by Commissioner Rob Manfred on April 29, a penalty that if unchanged will cost the Dodgers pitcher just over $60 million of his $102 million, threeyear contract.
An MRI on Yankees LHP Aroldis Chapman (left Achilles tendon) came back clean but an injured list stint is still possible. Chapman has allowed an earned run in five appearances. RHP Chad Green (elbow) said he will undergo Tommy John surgery next week.
The Cardinals placed star catcher Yadier Molina on the bereavement list. The Cardinals also announced that right-hander Alex Reyes is going to have shoulder surgery later this month. The move with Molina comes one day after he made his first career pitching appearance, working the ninth inning of an 18-4 victory at Pittsburgh.
The Washington Nationals expect to have their financial information available for potential buyers this week, the latest step in the Lerner family’s exploration of a sale of the club, two people with familiar with the process said.