Sunday, September 3, 2017 07:35 PM (ET)

Judge homers as Yankees take series from Red Sox

The Sports Xchange
Sep 3, 2017

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge hit his first home run in more than two weeks, and the New York Yankees blasted three homers against Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale and concluded the season series against their rivals with a 9-2 victory on Sunday night.

Judge hit his league-leading 38th homer with two outs in the sixth off Addison Reed when he drove the right-hander's 1-1 fastball an estimated 469 feet halfway up the left field bleachers. The ball traveled 115.1 mph and ended his season-high 57-at-bat drought without a homer.

Judge hit his first homer since the fourth-inning, upper-deck shot off New York Mets right-hander Robert Gsellman on Aug. 16 at Citi Field. The Sunday blast occurred after Chase Headley, Matt Holliday and Todd Frazier hit solo homers off Sale.

Gary Sanchez contributed a bases-loaded infield single, and Starlin Castro hit a bases-clearing double as the Yankees took three of four in the series and moved within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Red Sox in the American League East.

Sale (15-7) lasted 4 1/3 innings, marking the fourth time he did not complete six innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six. Sale went 0-3 in his five starts against the Yankees this season.

The left-hander lost for the second time in three starts and threw 109 pitches to 22 hitters. Sale was at 96 pitches through four innings, and New York fouled off 29 pitches against him.

New York's Luis Severino (12-6) allowed an unearned run and two hits in six innings. He struck out nine, including his 200th of the season, and didn't issue a walk.

Severino became the first American League pitcher to get 200 strikeouts in his 23-or-younger season since Felix Hernandez totaled 217 in 2009.

The Red Sox scored their first run when Eduardo Nunez scored on Sanchez's 14th passed ball after Frazier made two errors at third in the sixth inning. Sandy Leon's RBI single in the ninth accounted for the game's final run.

After the passed ball pulled Boston with 3-1, New York blew the game open.

Sanchez made it 4-1 when the Yankees won a replay challenge on his sixth-inning ground ball to third baseman Rafael Devers. Two pitches later, Castro ripped a double to right field off Reed for a 7-1 edge.

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead when Headley opened the third by lifting an 0-2 slider into the first row of the left field seats.

Holliday capped a nine-pitch at-bat with one out in the fourth by sending a full-count fastball into Boston's bullpen as center fielder Jackie Bradley scaled the wall in left-center field.

Five pitches later, Frazier hit a 2-2 slider over the left-field wall and off the hands of a fan in the first row for a 3-0 lead.

NOTES: The Yankees and Red Sox teamed up to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief by auctioning off autographed team memorabilia from the game. In a pregame ceremony, Boston manager John Farrell and New York manager Joe Girardi unfurled the Texas state flag in support of the cause. ... New York OF Aaron Hicks was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left oblique. ... Boston LHP David Price (left elbow inflammation) played catch before the game. He will throw a 30 to 35 pitch bullpen session before Monday's game. ... New York OF Clint Frazier (strained left oblique) will start a rehab assignment Wednesday with Double-A Trenton. ... Girardi said he did not hear anything about the results of the appeals for C Gary Sanchez (four-game suspension) and C Austin Romine (two-game suspension). ... Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis was ejected by plate umpire Sam Holbrook in the sixth inning.
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