Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton power Yankees past White Sox, 4-2
The Yankees extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the takeaways...
-Aaron Judge picked up right where he left off in Minnesota and clobbered an inside sinker in his first at-bat for a 433-foot home run into the left field second deck to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. The White Sox were much more careful pitching to Judge the rest of the game as he worked three walks in his next at-bats.
After a slow start, the Yankees captain is on a scorching hot streak. Seven of his last eight at-bats have gone for extra bases – five doubles and two home runs. In his last seven games, Judge is hitting .476 with a 1.143 OPS.
-Giancarlo Stanton flexed his muscles, too, going 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBI. Stanton’s fourth-inning double to center field narrowly missed being a home run by inches but drove in Alex Verdugo to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead.
The Yankees slugger extended the lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning when he smashed a first-pitch fastball 417 feet to left field with a 116 mph exit velocity. Stanton has also been hot in his last seven games, hitting .357 with three home runs and five RBI.
-While the Yankees offense provided the highlights, Nestor Cortes bounced back from his previous start against the Rays by tossing seven innings and holding the White Sox to just one run on five hits while striking out six.
The southpaw finished the game strong, retiring the final eight batters he faced in a row. He even helped himself out in the fifth inning, after allowing the first two baserunners to reach, Cortes picked off White Sox second baseman Zach Remillard with one out. He followed by getting Eloy Jimenez to ground into a fielder’s choice, ending the threat.
-If there was one area of concern for the Yankees on Friday, it was how Ian Hamilton struggled, allowing a run for the third time in his last five appearances. The right-hander was hit hard -- allowing two doubles and a single -- and managed to get one out before he was lifted for Caleb Ferguson, who got out of the inning without any further trouble.
On a more positive bullpen note, Clay Holmes recorded his 13th save of the season and continued to post a 0.00 ERA.
Game MVP: Giancarlo Stanton
The Yankees DH drove in two of their four runs and did so in classic Stanton fashion -- with two extra-base hits with triple-digit exit velocities, including a 116 mph home run.
Highlights
What's Next
The Yankees continue their three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
Luis Gil (4-1, 2.51 ERA) toes the rubber for the Yanks while Brad Keller (0-1, 2.84 ERA) gets the start for Chicago.
