The New York Yankees faced off against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon, looking to take a rubber match after falling on Saturday night.
Luckily, star slugger Aaron Judge continued his incredible stretch post-All-Star break. Over the past five games, Judge has tallied nine hits in his last 19 at-bats. He’s recorded four homers and 11 RBIs in that time span, proving once again why he should be paid like one of the best players in baseball.
General manager Brian Cashman is trying desperately not to overpay the 30-year-old slugger, but if he can continue playing at this level for the next few years, it’ll be worth every penny. In Sunday’s win, he posted two hits over four at-bats, including a two-run homer in the top of the 3rd inning, driving in DJ LeMahieu. Judge rocked a hanging curveball that dropped into the middle of the plate 456 feet.
- Yankees ace continues to progress in throwing program after throwing up to 120 feet
- Should the Yankees pick up recently waived first baseman to boost their lineup?
- Yankees announce that veteran infielder will start rehab assignment today in Double-A
The Yankees needed some vintage Nestor Cortes:
However, the Yankees’ top performer was starting pitcher Nestor Cortes, who gave up six hits and zero earned runs on seven strikeouts. Cortes lasted 6.0 innings, tossing 94 pitches and 64 strikes. He showcased every reason why he was elected to his first All-Star appearance.
Cortes has been solid in the month of July, aside from one tough outing against the Boston Red Sox on July 8. If you exclude that game, he’s given up just two earned runs over 19 innings. He currently features a 2.63 ERA on the season with a 1.00 whip. Coming off a tough outing for Gerrit Cole, Cortes showcased why the Yankees have relied on him significantly this season, despite dealing with a bit of fatigue in June.
Aside from Judge and Cortes dominating the stat sheet, Gleyber Torres added two hits, Aaron Hicks contributed two hits and Jose Treviño had his first career four-hit performance. Treviño doubled deep right field in the top of the 6th inning, driving in Matt Carpenter to give the Yankees a 5–0 lead.
Overall, this was a quality performance from the Bombers, who needed a strong pitching performance to boost their confidence. The Yanks are gearing up to take on the New York Mets in a two-game series starting on Tuesday. They will have Monday off and host Jordan Montgomery on the mound against Taijuan Walker for a 7:10 PM start time.