MLB roundup: Aaron Judge belts 2 more HRs in Yankees' rout

 

[August 26, 2024]  Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st homers of the season to lead the New York Yankees to a 10-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon.

Judge joined Hall of Famer Babe Ruth along with Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez as the fifth player to reach 50 homers at least three times.

Judge's 50th homer came two batters after Gleyber Torres opened the bottom of the first inning with a walk. Judge lifted an 0-2 changeup from Colorado starter Austin Gomber (4-9) and sent it into the visiting bullpen beyond the left-center-field fence to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

He then hit his 51st long ball in the seventh, sending a first-pitch fastball from reliever Jeff Criswell into the right field seats.

Gomber allowed four runs on six hits in six innings. Drew Romo had an RBI single in the fourth and Ryan McMahon produced a run-scoring double in the fifth for the Rockies.

Nationals 5, Braves 1

Jacob Young had two hits, including an RBI double to highlight a three-run seventh inning, helping visiting Washington beat Atlanta to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

Nationals starter DJ Herz allowed only one hit -- a second-inning single by Orlando Arcia -- in five scoreless innings. Jacob Barnes (8-2) earned the win.

Atlanta, which was limited to three hits, tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth when Matt Olson hit a 429-foot homer to center field, his 22nd long ball of 2024.

Pirates 4, Reds 3

Yasmani Grandal hit a walk-off two-run home run to lift Pittsburgh to a win against visiting Cincinnati in the finale of a four-game series.

Grandal knocked a fastball into the seats in right-center field against Reds closer Alexis Diaz (1-4) to give Pittsburgh its third victory of the series. Aroldis Chapman (5-4) threw a scoreless top of the ninth to earn the win.

Cincinnati struggled to capitalize on having a handful of baserunners through the first six innings against Pirates starter Luis L. Ortiz, who held the Reds scoreless on four hits. The visitors scored all three of their runs in the seventh.

Phillies 11, Royals 3

Garrett Stubbs went 4-for-4 with three runs and an RBI to help visiting Philadelphia pound Kansas City in the rubber match of their three-game series.

Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each had two hits and three RBIs, Brandon Marsh had two hits and scored twice and Nick Castellanos hit a two-run homer for the Phillies, who went 3-3 on a six-game road trip.

Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and MJ Melendez homered for the Royals, who went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Kansas City starter Seth Lugo (14-8) allowed six runs (five earned) and a season-high 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Astros 6, Orioles 3

Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to lift Houston to a win over host Baltimore, allowing it to salvage a split of a four-game series.

Four Houston pitchers held the Orioles to two total hits, but it took some late offense to pull out the victory after the Orioles rallied from a multi-run deficit for the third day in a row.

Ramon Urias' three-run blast in the fifth knotted the score at 3-3 for the Orioles. Hector Neris (9-4) was the winning pitcher with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Josh Hader notched his 28th save of 2024 despite issuing a leadoff walk in the ninth.

Tigers 9, White Sox 4

Detroit took the lead with three runs in the fifth inning and kept adding on in a victory over host Chicago.

The White Sox scored two runs in the first inning but could not avert their second consecutive 100-loss season. Jonathan Cannon (2-8) mostly escaped early difficulties, but his luck ran out in the fifth inning. In four-plus innings, the right-hander yielded five runs on eight hits and four walks.

Andy Ibanez homered and drove in three runs for Detroit, which has won 10 of its last 13 games. Colt Keith added to his big series with three hits, a walk and three RBIs, and Jace Jung, Kerry Carpenter and Trey Sweeney added two hits apiece for the Tigers, who outhit the White Sox 14-9. Rookie left-hander Bryan Sammons (1-1) picked up his first major league win in his sixth game.

Cardinals 3, Twins 2

Lars Nootbaar ripped a go-ahead, two-run single during the top of the ninth inning, and St. Louis held on for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Victor Scott II added a solo homer for St. Louis, which won the rubber match of the three-game series. Scott's blast marked the only extra-base hit for the Cardinals. Right-hander Shawn Armstrong (3-2) earned the victory out of the bullpen with two-thirds of an inning. He was one of four relievers to follow starter Erick Fedde, who allowed one run on two hits in six innings. Fedde struck out seven.

Willi Castro hit a solo homer to lead the Twins. Royce Lewis added an RBI double. Twins right-hander Jhoan Duran (6-7) blew the save in the ninth. He gave up a pair of unearned runs on three hits in one inning.

Padres 3, Mets 2

Jackson Merrill cracked a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting San Diego to a comeback win over visiting New York and a split of the teams' four-game series.

Merrill got a 2-0 count against reliever Edwin Diaz (5-2) and lined a hanging slider an estimated 379 feet into the right field seats for his 19th homer. Robert Suarez (8-1) pitched a clean ninth for the win as the Padres ended their seven-game homestand at 4-3 and stayed 1 1/2 games behind Arizona for the National League's first wild-card spot.

The Mets were in position to win the series, leading 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth. But Jose Butto walked rookie Mason McCoy with one out and then fed Jurickson Profar ripped a homer to right field, tying the score with his career-high 21st homer. That swing no-decisioned Jose Quintana, who allowed just four hits and two walks, striking out none in 6 1/3 innings.

Aug 25, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielders Alex Verdugo (24), Aaron Judge (99), and Juan Soto (22) celebrate after defeating the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Diamondbacks 7, Red Sox 5

Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run home run to help visiting Arizona complete a three-game sweep of Boston.

The Diamondbacks trailed 4-3 until Suarez hit his 20th home run of the season in the sixth inning. Suarez, who had four hits Sunday, collected eight hits and 10 RBIs in the series. The Diamondbacks also received a solo home run from Geraldo Perdomo (No. 3 of the year) in the ninth. The victory stretched Arizona's winning streak to six games.

Boston starter Tanner Houck (8-9) allowed six runs on seven hits in six innings.

Blue Jays 8, Angels 2

Kevin Gausman struck out a season-high-tying 10 over seven innings and Toronto defeated visiting Los Angeles.

It was the fourth 10-strikeout game of the season for Gausman (12-9). He allowed one run, two hits and no walks and retired his final 12 batters. Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk hit two-run home runs for the Blue Jays, who swept the seven-game season series against the staggering Angels. Toronto has homered in 14 straight games.

Brandon Drury hit a solo homer for the Angels. Los Angeles left-hander Tyler Anderson (10-12) allowed two runs, four hits and four walks with three strikeouts in five innings.

Guardians 4, Rangers 2

Matthew Boyd allowed one run over six strong innings and Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry homered as Cleveland beat visiting Texas.

In his third start since debuting with Cleveland after elbow surgery, Boyd (1-0) yielded just a fifth-inning run, three hits and a walk while striking out four. Emmanuel Clase struck out the side in the ninth for his 38th save as the American League Central-leading Guardians won the final two of the three-game set.

Texas' Cody Bradford (4-2) allowed two early runs (one earned), then settled down, giving up three total hits and two walks over six innings.

Marlins 7, Cubs 2

Connor Norby and Jesus Sanchez each homered as host Miami snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over Chicago.

Norby went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Sanchez had a game-high two RBIs. Adam Oller (1-1) allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts to earn his first win as a Marlin. Three Miami relievers combined to hold Chicago to just one run on two hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Chicago had its three-game win streak snapped as Javier Assad (6-4) took the loss. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts over seven innings.

Athletics 4, Brewers 3

Daz Cameron and Zack Gelof capped a four-run fourth inning with consecutive sacrifice flies, Mason Miller retired all four batters he faced for his 21st save and Oakland snapped visiting Milwaukee's interleague winning streak at 12.

Oakland did all of its scoring in the fourth against former A's pitcher Frankie Montas (6-9), who had taken a 2-0 lead into the inning. Consecutive singles by Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker and JJ Bleday loaded the bases with no outs. Montas then walked Shea Langeliers and served up an RBI single to Seth Brown, tying the score, before the run-scoring flyballs by Cameron and Gelof.

Making his first Oakland start after having spent six seasons (2017-22) with the A's, Montas worked six innings, allowing four runs and five hits.

Dodgers 3, Rays 1

Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning and host Los Angeles pulled out a victory over Tampa Bay to win for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Gavin Stone went seven strong innings and Enrique Hernandez also hit a home run as the Dodgers maintained their three-game lead on the hard-charging Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.

Jonny DeLuca hit a home run for the Rays, while left-hander Jacob Lopez gave up one run on two hits over five innings with two walks and six strikeouts.

Mariners 4, Giants 3

Bryan Woo pitched seven strong innings as Seattle defeated visiting San Francisco to take two of three games in the interleague series.

Woo (6-2), who grew up as a Giants fan in the Bay Area, allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his 19th save of the season, striking out Mark Canha with runners on the corners to end the game.

Heliot Ramos and Grant McCray homered for the Giants.

--Field Level Media

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