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

06/05/2024

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees celebrates his first inning home run against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in New York City.

NEW YORK — In his first at-bat since Saturday’s ejection, Aaron Judge left the ballpark.

Figuratively, that is.

Judge’s first-inning solo home run against red-hot Tigers ace Tarik Skubal gave the Yankees an early lead in their rain-shortened 5-2 win Sunday in the Bronx, helping to finish off a three-game sweep of upstart Detroit.

But the biggest blow came off the bat of Juan Soto, whose three-run double against reliever Andrew Chafin broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning and proved to be the game-winner in a contest called after eight innings.

Judge went 2-for-3 with a walk, adding some theatrics to an eventful two days 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.

While the ejection commanded considerable attention, it was an otherwise productive weekend for Judge, 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.

Sunday began with a pitchers’ duel between Skubal and fellow left-hander Nestor Cortes. The Yankees loaded their lineup with seven right-handed hitters to face Skubal, who recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts over his six innings of work but surrendered two runs and a season-high six hits.

Four of those hits — including Judge’s 399-foot homer and Oswaldo Cabrera’s second-inning RBI double — came on opposite-field base knocks by batters hitting from the right side.

Skubal collected a no-decision, marking his 12th consecutive start without taking a loss — a streak that dates back to last season. The Yankees dealt him his last loss on Aug. 29 in Detroit.

Cortes, meanwhile, cruised through six scoreless innings Sunday before leaving with two on and one out in the seventh. Spencer Torkelson delivered 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.

The Yankees then responded with the bases-clearing double from Soto, who is now 11-for-25 (.440) with 22 RBI in at-bats with runners in scoring position.

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.

The Tigers (18-16) totaled six runs over the three losses to the Yankees (23-13).

The Yankees are off Monday, then continue their home stand with a three-game series against the rival Astros, whom they swept during a season-opening four-game set in Houston.

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