Aaron Judge homered twice and drove in three runs as the visiting New York Yankees held on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Monday night.
Willie Calhoun added a two-run home run for the Yankees, who took the opener of a four-game series for their sixth win in eight games.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the top of the eighth for arguing balls and strikes, just before Judge hit his second homer of the game and 10th of the season.
Toronto saw its three-game winning streak end.
Jimmy Cordero pitched two perfect innings as the Yankees’ opener. Jhony Brito (3-3) replaced Cordero in the third and allowed four runs (two earned) and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Brito struck out two without issuing a walk.
Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah (1-4) allowed five runs, six hits and a career-high seven walks in four-plus innings. He fanned three.
Judge homered to right with one out in the first inning. Two outs later, Gleyber Torres singled before Calhoun hit his third homer of the season, a drive to right-center.
New York’s Anthony Volpe doubled down the left field line to open the fourth inning. Oswaldo Cabrera walked and Kyle Higashioka hit an RBI single. Aaron Hicks walked to load the bases, and Judge walked with one out to force in a run for a 5-0 lead.
After Manoah issued two walks to open the fifth, Nate Pearson entered and worked out of the inning.
The Yankees’ Jake Bauers walked with one out in the sixth and stole second. Judge was intentionally walked before Tim Mayza replaced Pearson and allowed Anthony Rizzo’s RBI double.
Jay Jackson allowed Judge’s homer with two outs in the top of the eighth for a 7-0 New York advantage.
Jays’ third baseman Matt Chapman led off the bottom of the eighth with a double down the left field line. Whit Merrifield blooped an RBI single.
Brandon Belt reached first on Torres’ error on a grounder to second. The runners advanced to second and third on Alejandro Kirk’s groundout to second, and Kevin Kiermaier’s infield hit loaded the bases.
Ian Hamilton replaced Brito, and a run scored on George Springer’s fielder’s-choice grounder to shortstop. Bo Bichette hit an RBI single and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Michael King entered, and he retired Daulton Varsho on a grounder to end the inning. King subsequently tossed a perfect ninth to earn his third save.
–Field Level Media
