Aaron Judge continued his torrid pace with his major league-leading 43rd home run — a two-run drive in the second inning — as the New York Yankees reached 70 wins with a 7-2 victory over the visiting Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer three batters into the game and Jose Trevino added two solo blasts as the Yankees won for the fourth time in five games since losing five of their first seven games of the second half.
Judge hit his 10th homer since the All-Star break and homered for the 13th time in his past 16 games when he connected on a first-pitch cutter by Seattle’s Marco Gonzales (6-11) and lifted it into the visiting bullpen in left field for a 5-1 lead.
An inning earlier, Judge followed DJ LeMahieu’s leadoff single with a double off the base of the left field fence on the first pitch he saw just before Rizzo homered for the third straight game. It marked the 10th time Rizzo homered in a third straight game and first time since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs.
Judge slugged his latest homer on a busy day for the Yankees, who made two trades before the game ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Yankees obtained reliever Scott Effross from the Cubs and then acquired starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from Oakland for four minor leaguers.
Kyle Lewis homered and Adam Frazier hit an RBI single as Seattle dropped to 4-7 since entering the All-Star break with 14 straight wins.
New York’s Domingo German (1-1) allowed two runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out one, walked three and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third by retiring Lewis.
Gonzales allowed six runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked three and tied a career high by yielding three homers.
Ron Marinaccio, Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Loaisiga and Wandy Peralta followed German by tossing a scoreless inning apiece.
–Field Level Media