Aaron Judge, New York Yankees spoil Cincinnati Reds' City Connect debut
On a night that featured the debut of a new Cincinnati Reds uniform and controversy surrounding a foreign substance inspection on the New York Yankees’ starting pitcher, it was the sport’s biggest star who headlined the show.
Aaron Judge, playing in Cincinnati for the first time since he was a rookie in 2017, launched a 431-foot homer in his first at-bat and his sixth-inning walk set the stage for Anthony Rizzo’s two-run homer in New York’s 6-2 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Judge, who received a loud ovation after his pregame batting practice session and between innings from the crowd of 35,177, broke his bat on his first swing of the game. Four pitches later, he bashed a mammoth homer to center field that nearly hit the “Red hits sign, fan wins Tundra” advertisement, spoiling the Reds’ first game in their all-black City Connect uniforms.
Ben Lively, making his first MLB start since 2018 after he made two relief appearances for the Reds, quieted the Yankees lineup for 5 2/3 innings. After giving up the solo homer to Judge and a single to Anthony Rizzo in the first inning, he retired 16 consecutive batters before walking Judge in the sixth inning to end his outing.
The 31-year-old Lively kept hitters off balance with his six-pitch mix, matching a career high with eight strikeouts. Plus, he was efficient and required 83 pitches to record 17 outs. After the first inning, he allowed only two balls to leave the infield, both flyouts to center field.
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Ian Gibaut replaced Lively in the sixth inning to face Rizzo with two outs and a one-run lead. Rizzo pulled an inside slider down the right field line for his 10th home run of the season. Rizzo, a longtime division rival with the Chicago Cubs, has 35 homers and 100 RBI in 157 career games in Cincinnati.
The Reds rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Jonathan India and Matt McLain produced back-to-back hits against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt – after Schmidt remained in the game when he was asked by the umpiring crew to wash a sticky substance from his glove and/or hands – Jake Fraley hit a two-run double into the left center gap.
Fraley stole third base when the next batter drew a walk, but Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero escaped the jam with two strikeouts and a comebacker to the mound.
Takeaways from the Reds’ series opener vs. the Yankees
1. The Reds lost some depth in their starting rotation after Nick Lodolo went on the 15-day injured list and they released Luis Cessa, but Lively has done everything to receive a longer look. He continues to induce a lot of soft contact and Friday was an outing where he drew seven swings and misses in nine swings against his slider.
Lively, 31, is the oldest member of the starting rotation, which isn’t a perfect fit for a rebuilding club, but he continues to provide stability. Through three outings, Lively has yielded a 2.45 ERA after permitting seven hits and three runs in 11 innings.
2. Spencer Steer struggled offensively for a stretch after he was sidelined for three games with right knee and quad discomfort, but it looks like he's back in a rhythm. Batting cleanup with Tyler Stephenson struggling, Steer reached base two more times Friday with a single and a walk.
Steer is hitting .293 in his last 12 games with a .408 on-base percentage. With India and McLain hitting well atop the lineup, Steer is quietly making a bigger impact in the middle of the batting order.
3. The Reds didn’t have many scoring opportunities against Schmidt, and they spoiled one of them with two baserunning mistakes on the same play. With two runners on base and India at the plate, Henry Ramos was thrown out attempting to steal third. Making it worse, the runner at first base, Wil Myers, didn’t advance on the play.
The club’s success rate on stolen bases dropped to 69.6%, the second-lowest in the majors. Schmidt struck out India to end the inning.
Stat of the day
It’s the fifth series ever, according to Elias Sports Bureau, to feature two sons of Major League managers managing against each other. The other matchups were Aaron Boone (Bob) vs. Mets’ Luis Rojas (Felipe Alou) in 2020 and 2021, Bell (Buddy) vs. Rojas in 2021, and Bell vs. Boone in 2022 and 2023.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds vs. Yankees game: Aaron Judge spoils Ben Lively outing
