Juan Soto hits game-winning double, Aaron Judge homers in first at-bat since ejection as Yankees sweep Tigers

On a rain-soaked Sunday in the Bronx, the Yankees put last week’s offensive dry spell further into the past.

Aaron Judge homered in his first at-bat since Saturday’s ejection and Juan Soto delivered more late-inning heroics in the Yankees’ rain-shortened 5-2 victory over the Tigers, finishing off a three-game sweep of upstart Detroit.

Soto’s three-run double against reliever Andrew Chafin broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh and proved to be the game-winner in a contest called after 7 ½ innings due to an unplayable field.

Now 36 games into his Yankees career, Soto is 11-for-25 (.440) with 22 RBI in at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“I think I just like the big moments,” Soto said. “I like to be up there, and it just gives me a little bit of adrenaline. I want to get the job done so bad that it just happens.”

The bases-clearing hit marked another clutch moment for Soto, who also recorded the go-ahead RBI in three Yankees wins in Houston — all in the seventh inning or later — to begin the season.

“He’s a gamer,” Judge said. “No moment’s too big for him. He’s ready, and he does a good job of flushing all of his at-bats. Even if he’s 2-for-2 on the day or if he’s 0-for-2, he treats every moment as the most-important moment.”

Judge went 2-for-3 with a walk Sunday to cap an eventful series for the slugger. He was ejected Saturday for the first time in his career after he took issue with a called third strike while walking away from home-plate umpire Ryan Blakney. Judge became the first Yankees captain to get tossed since Don Mattingly in 1994.

His first-inning solo home run on Sunday came against red-hot Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who entered with a 1.72 ERA.

“It was good to see,” manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s 399-foot blast. “With Skubal going, you know it’s going to be a challenge, so every run is precious. … We were able to get to him a little bit early.”

Oswaldo Cabrera added a second-inning RBI double against Skubal, who recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts over six innings but surrendered those two runs and a season-high six hits.

Yankees starter Nestor Cortes, meanwhile, cruised through six scoreless innings before leaving with two on and one out in the seventh. Spencer Torkelson recorded an RBI double and Javier Baez added a run-scoring force out against Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton, giving Cortes a final line of two earned runs over 6.1 innings with nine strikeouts.

Detroit’s seventh-inning rally tied the game, 2-2, until Soto broke it open in the bottom of the frame.

Rain fell steadily throughout the afternoon, but the game began on time and was not interrupted until a 56-minute weather delay in the middle of the eighth inning. Play never resumed before the game was made final.

“I felt like every ball I got from the umpire was a little wet,” Cortes said. “I had to make sure I was rubbing it and keeping it as dry as possible. Also, between outs, I would keep my hand in the glove so my hand wouldn’t get so wet, but I was able to manage.”

While Judge’s ejection commanded considerable attention, it was an otherwise productive weekend for the outfielder, who went 5-for-10 over the three games against the Tigers. That followed a four-game series in Baltimore in which Judge finished 1-for-13.

The Yankees struggled as a whole against the Orioles, suffering three losses and totaling six runs over that four-game set. They scored two runs in Friday’s win over Detroit before breaking out with five runs in Saturday and Sunday’s games.

“We have some guys getting going now,” Soto said. “They’re swinging a lot better. Everything that they’ve been working on is working, and they’re getting results.”

The Yankees (23-13) are off Monday, then continue their home stand with a three-game series against the rival Astros, who are an uncharacteristic 12-22 this season.