Toronto 3
NY Yankees 4
Judge's homer sparks Yankees past Blue Jays 4-3
Apr 19, 2018
Aaron Judge hit a towering home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning as the New York Yankees held on for a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night.
Judge hit his fifth homer of the season when he lifted a 3-2 split-fingered fastball from former Yankee Tyler Clippard into the left field seats, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead.
Judge's homer exited his bat at 106 mph and traveled 394 feet into the first level of seats.
It was Judge's 61st homer in his 199th career game, making him the fastest player to get 61 homers. Mark McGwire previously held the record set in his 204th career game on May 14, 1988, for Oakland against Mike Boddicker at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
Didi Gregorius and Ronald Torreyes added RBI singles for the Yankees while Tyler Wade's groundout accounted for their other run.
Giancarlo Stanton batted fourth for the first time and went 1-for-3 with an infield single and a walk.
Luke Maile hit a run-scoring single and scored on a passed ball by Gary Sanchez for Toronto. Pinch hitter Curtis Granderson added a bases-loaded single off David Robertson in the eighth.
Toronto lost for the second time in its last nine games and finished 2 of 14 with runners in scoring position.
CC Sabathia returned from the disabled list after missing nearly two weeks with a strained right hip for the Yankees. He allowed two unearned runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Chad Green (1-0) recorded five outs and Dellin Betances pitched a perfect seventh. Robertson retired Randal Grichuk and Maile with the bases loaded after allowing Granderson's bloop single.
Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a scoreless ninth and notched his third save.
Toronto's Aaron Sanchez (1-2) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings in his first start since April 10.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second on Wade's groundout and a base hit by Torreyes over the leaping attempt of shortstop Aledmys Diaz.
Toronto capitalized on a throwing error by Torreyes at third and tied the game on a base hit by Maile with two outs in the fourth. New York regained the lead on a base hit by Gregorius but could not get more as Gary Sanchez grounded out to third with the bases loaded.
--Field Level Media
