Aaron Judge broke out of his home run slump in a big way, powering the New York Yankees (11-7) to a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals (8-11) and a three-game sweep on Wednesday night in the Bronx.
With the game tied in the seventh, Judge crushed a 1-0 sinker 383 feet to center for his seventh homer of the season, putting New York ahead for good. The blast snapped a 10-game homerless streak for the slugger, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs, and an RBI. He also extended his hitting streak to five games and now leads the league with a .409 average and 1.322 OPS.
Clarke Schmidt made his season debut after recovering from spring shoulder issues. He allowed three earned runs over 5.2 innings but flashed dominance with a stretch of 11 straight batters retired. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Yankees took the lead in the third on Anthony Volpe’s two-out two-run double and Cody Bellinger added an RBI double in the fourth to extend the lead.
With closer Devin Williams unavailable, Fernando Cruz secured the final six outs and survived a tense ninth thanks to Bellinger’s diving catch in right. It was the right-hander’s first career save.
Next, the Yankees open a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].