Aaron Judge Snaps Playoff Slump and Lifts the Yankees
Aaron Judge smashed a home run and drove in three runs to carry the New York Yankees' offense in their second win of the American League Championship Series, defeating the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Tuesday.
The Yankees (2-0) will now head to Cleveland's Progressive Field, where the Guardians (0-2) will try to get their first win in the best-of-seven series this Thursday. Judge, who led the MLB with 58 home runs during the regular season, hit his first one of this postseason. The Yankees struck early, scoring in the very first inning when Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, a Gold Glove finalist, misjudged a fly ball from Judge, allowing Gleyber Torres to score from third.
New York kept the pressure on in the bottom of the second, tacking on two more runs. First, Mexican outfielder Alex Verdugo doubled down the left-field line, bringing Anthony Volpe home. The second run came when Anthony Rizzo scored on a sac fly to center from Judge.
The Guardians answered back in the top of the fifth, with Josh Naylor's sac fly to right allowing Steven Kwan to score their first run. They added another in that same inning on a grounder from Will Brennan, with Kyle Manzardo crossing the plate on a fielder's choice.
Aaron Boone’s squad came back strong in the sixth inning, when, after a Rizzo double, Brennan made an error that allowed Volpe to score. Judge sealed the deal in the seventh with a bomb to center off reliever Hunter Gaddis, sending the ball into the stands with Torres on base, stretching the Yankees' lead even further.
In the ninth, Dominican slugger José Ramírez hit a solo shot to add one more run for the Guardians. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole wasn’t as sharp as his last outing, allowing six hits, four walks, and two runs. He left the game after 4.1 innings, striking out four, and couldn’t qualify for the win.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (0-1) lasted only 1.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned), as for the second game in a row, manager Stephen Vogt had to go to his bullpen early, using nine pitchers to get through the game. For the Yankees, Torres scored twice, Verdugo drove in a run, and Dominican Juan Soto got a base hit. Ramírez homered for the Guardians.