In the afternoon, Aaron Judge’s show continued as several of his co-stars joined him on the show.
Gerrit Cole was outstanding, holding Cleveland to just one hit, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer.
But the Yankees’ world revolves around their slugger, who is coming off another of the greatest seasons in baseball history.
Judge hit his 48th home run of the year and was the only run the Yankees needed to beat the Guardians 6-0 on Thursday before a crowd of 38,105 in the Bronx.
The Yankees (75-53) won the series with a 15th victory in their last 23 games, thanks to a performance by ace pitcher Cole, who allowed just one hit and five walks over four consecutive innings and pitched six scoreless innings.
The pinstriped offense was limited to just six hits, but the most scoring swing came from Stanton, who reached out to grab a Nick Sandlin slider off the plate and powerfully smashed it 417 feet to center field for a four-run lead in the fifth inning.
There were some positive signs around the club, the most positive being that the attacks on Judge’s record showed no signs of abating.
It’s hot, sweltering, and a searing heat that feels like the judges’ bats will melt if you touch them.
The superstar has homered in three straight games, six in his last seven games and seven in his last 10. He extended his season-best 10-game hitting streak and is batting 17-for-37 (.460), with seven walks, four doubles and 13 RBIs. Going back to his last 99 games, Judge has 132 hits in 348 at-bats (.379), with 44 home runs, 105 RBIs and 84 walks. While the others are playing baseball, No. 99 is playing video games.
Only two players in MLB history have hit 60+ home runs in multiple seasons — Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa — and none of them have been involved with PEDs and have done anything like what Judge is threatening to do.
Opposing teams might try to pitch to Judge, as the Guardians did with one out and the bases loaded in a scoreless fourth inning. Gavin Williams’ 2-1 changeup went past the plate and Judge hit a shot the other way over the short porch.
Or maybe the opposing team will try to pitch around Stanton, as the Guardians did in the fifth inning with runners on the corners and one out. Sandlin threw two pitches to Judge before intentionally walking him to load the bases. Austin Wells then delivered a beautiful sacrifice fly, and Stanton raised his arms for his 21st strikeout of the season, bringing the afternoon’s drama to a close.
Cole was not particularly sharp, but he was effective, throwing 95 pitches, only 55 of which were strikes. He consistently avoided pitching with a high number of walks, and did not allow them to work against him. Cleveland was 0-for-3 against Cole with runners in scoring position.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is beginning to show signs of that: Over his past four starts, Cole has allowed just three earned runs in 23 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.72.
Tim Hill, Luke Weaver and Michael Tonkin all combined for one hit each to finish the game.
