Judge hits 28th HR as Yankees top Braves

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hits an RBI double during the fifth inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. AFP PHOTO

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 28th home run and the New York Yankees stopped a three-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) as Giancarlo Stanton hurt his left hamstring.

Judge had three RBIs for a major league-high 70, Juan Soto reached base four times on a single and three walks, and Marcus Stroman won for the fifth time in six decisions. The big league-best Yankees (52-27) had lost five of their previous six games.

Stanton doubled off the center-field wall in the fourth inning and winced when he rounded third base on Gleyber Torres' double, which gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead. Trent Grisham pinch hit for Stanton in the sixth, and the Yankees said the oft-injured 34-year-old slugger had left hamstring tightness and will have imaging on Sunday.

Stanton played in 69 of the Yankees' first 79 games this season and is hitting .246 with 18 homers and 45 RBIs.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected by Derek Thomas after Stroman started yelling at the plate umpire about a ball four decision to Marcell Ozuna leading off the seventh. Boone screamed at Thomas from the dugout and was ejected for the fourth time this season and for the 37th time in seven seasons as Yankees manager.