Aaron Judge let his bat do the talking on Sunday, as he crushed a two-run homer in the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Red Sox after Alex Cora suggested his team threw at the slugger the day before.
With the Yankees already leading thanks to a Giancarlo Stanton RBI double in the second inning and a Gleyber Torres solo homer in the third, Judge launched a Kutter Crawford fastball 445 feet off the Yankee Stadium batter’s eye and into Monument Park. That dinger, also hit in the third inning, gave Judge a major league-leading 53 on the season.
Following contact, Judge carried his bat a long way down the first base line in atypical fashion.
“I thought I do that every time, no?” he said when asked why he did that. “It was a big homer. We’re playing the Red Sox. This is a big rival, big games, big moments. So I was just having some fun with it there.”
ALL RISE! AARON JUDGE LAUNCHES ONE TO CENTER FIELD! 💪🚀 pic.twitter.com/oAFKHc119c
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 15, 2024
While Judge downplayed carrying his bat, he went deep hours after a candid Cora discussed the events of Saturday’s game, a 7-1 Red Sox win in which Gerrit Cole hit Rafael Devers. Cora repeatedly accused Cole of intentionally hitting Devers after that contest, but Cole and the Yankees denied that.
Asked if the beef was settled on Sunday morning, Cora said, “It was closed yesterday around the sixth inning. We had our chance. Didn’t happen, and we have to move on.”
The sixth inning of Saturday’s game saw Boston’s Brayan Bello throw behind Judge, but the pitcher missed.
“It’s baseball,” Judge said postgame when asked about Cora’s pregame comments. “He missed. Nothing that I can do besides take it and go to first, so it is what it is.
“I’ve been playing this game for a while. Things like that happen. I know they’re upset. I think three of their guys got hit that day, and I think they’re just protecting their players. So something’s gotta happen, and that’s the way this game kind of gets policed and has been policed for over 100 years. I think the biggest thing is just don’t miss when you do it.”
Judge added that he and Cora had a “good convo” about Saturday’s happenings, but he didn’t expand.
Meanwhile, Aaron Boone said that he had not seen Cora’s pregame comments following Sunday’s action. Told of them, Boone said, “That’s not allowed. That’s for somebody else to deal with. We’re finished playing them for now. We’re on to Seattle now.
“He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. I don’t really have anything to say about that.”
While Judge provided some serious power on Sunday, Carlos Rodón also helped the Yankees’ cause as they took 3-of-4 from a Red Sox team that is chasing a Wild Card spot.
Rodón totaled 5.1 innings, six hits, two earned runs, two walks, five strikeouts and 88 pitches. The two runs came on a fourth-inning homer from Tyler O’Neill.
Sunday marked Rodón’s 15th win, a career-high, and 30th start of the season. The lefty leads the Yankees in both departments after three injuries limited him to 14 starts in his debut season with the team last year.
Rodón has reached the 30-start threshold just one other time in his career.
“The goal this year was to go out there and make every start,” said Rodón, who has avoided the injured list this season.
The Red Sox nearly charged Rodón with another run, as he left the game with one out and a runner on third in the sixth. However, Ian Hamilton entered and struck out two.
Tim Hill, meanwhile, induced a big double play after relieving Hamilton in the seventh. Stanton then added to the Yankees’ lead with a sacrifice fly following a Romy Gonzalez error in the bottom of the inning. Tommy Kahnle then recorded his first save of the season after cleaning up a mess that Jake Cousins left him in the ninth.
With the Yankees potentially done with their bitter rival for the year, the 87-63 first-place club has Monday off before a west coast trip to Seattle and Oakland.
The Yankees will face some tough starters at T-Mobile Park, as Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert are lined up for the Mariners. Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt are scheduled to start for the Yankees.