The boys are bopping, as the Yankees roll into San Diego to face the Padres riding a two-game win streak with the Aaron Judge and Juan Soto connection firing on all cylinders. With Carlos Rodon going up against the dominant Yu Darvish, it would be a tough test for both Rodon and the Yankees’ offense, as the Padres have played better baseball than their record has suggested. They entered tonight’s game ranking 6th in wRC+ (112) and Darvish had four starts in a row without an earned run including dominant outings against the Dodgers and Braves.
Despite that, they just dominated San Diego from start to finish, as four home runs and nine shutout innings would hand the Yankees their 36th win of the season.
The Dynamic Duo Go Back-to-Back in Yankees Victory
It would be a fast start for the Yankees, as Anthony Volpe extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a leadoff triple, and Aaron Judge would hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 1-0 game. It should be noted that Juan Soto struck out in the inning, being smattered with boos from the San Diego crowd, boos that would only fuel what happened next. In a sudden twist, one of the top pitchers in baseball became a launching pad with Juan Soto delivering a two-out two-run blast in the third.
Aaron Judge would uncork his 16th blast of the season, providing the Yankees a 4-0 lead and going back-to-back with Juan Soto for the first time in their careers. The dynamic duo is firing on all cylinders, but quietly the third star has emerged to be Giancarlo Stanton. With Alex Verdugo lining a single off the left field wall, Giancarlo Stanton would demolish his 12th home run of the season, giving the Yankees three home runs and five runs with two outs against Darvish in the third.
Carlos Rodon would make sure the lead was never in peril, as while San Diego battled in two-strike counts, Rodon gutted through six shutout innings. His ERA on the season sits at just 2.95, and he didn’t allow a home run in the start after allowing a homer in five straight outings. He only struck out two batters, but San Diego isn’t a high-strikeout lineup, so Rodon had to work around the strength of the opposing lineup.
Dennis Santana relieved him in the bottom of the seventh after a walk and single knocked him out of the game, and he’d pick up two easy innings of scoreless baseball with a strikeout. In the top of the ninth, injury struck as Jon Berti went down and couldn’t walk off the field on his own, as there’s concern this could be a very serious issue. We have no word on where the injury was yet, but it doesn’t look as if he’ll be playing soon.
Anthony Volpe would score on a wild pitch to make it 8-0, and youngster Yoendyrs Gomez in just his second MLB appearance would strike out the side in order to end the game. The Yankees haven’t allowed a run in two straight games, their offense is on a tear, and they’ll look to keep the ball rolling tomorrow night as Marcus Stroman (3-2, 3.05 ERA) takes on Dylan Cease (5-3, 3.05 ERA) in San Diego at 9:40 PM EST.