Judge & Giancarlo BOMBS Carry Yanks. NY 7 SF 3

June 2, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

Aaron Judge did it again — a 2-run homer in the 1st inning to pick up where he left off the game before, and all of May — RED HOT. Alex Verdugo knocked in runs with a single and a triple, and Giancarlo Stanton put the cap on the Yankee scoring with a bomb just fair to left in the 8th to put the game away.

All backed a splendid start by Cody Poteet, and the Yankee bullpen — which protected a tight lead through the middle innings, then closed it — NY 7 Giants 3 on a Saturday night in San Francisco.

“It was just a really good at bat, with 3-2, fouling off pitches, (Logan) Webb making pitches against him, and then just getting one he could handle enough,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards about Judge’s HR. “The difference between him and most other guys is when guys get hot, they hit it off the barrel they wrack up some hits; when he gets hot he hits it off the barrel it’s in the seats. Fun to keep watching that.”

NY improves to 41-19, and remain 2 games ahead of Baltimore, which also continues to win. SF falls to 29-30.

1. Judge Starts It Off with a BANG

It was more RED HOT Aaron Judge to start the game, as Juan Soto got a 1-out single off Giants starter Logan Webb, and Judge worked a 3-2 count, fouled off 3 pitches (sweeper, changeup, sinker), then hit a BOMB off a changeup, 464 feet to left center for a 2-0 Yankee lead.

It was Judge’s 21st homer — after he hit 2 the day before, and 1 the day before that. He leads MLB.

2. Soto and Verdugo Make It 4-0 NY in 3rd

In the top of the 3rd the Yankees showed off their new #9 hitter — old man DJ LeMahieu who is back from injury and playing 3rd base. He led off with a single to right, and next batter Anthony Volpe doubled to put 2nd and 3rd nobody out.

Juan Soto hit a sac fly to left to plate LeMahieu, and after Aaron Judge was intentionally walked, Alex Verdugo singled in Volpe. NY 4 SF 0.

3. Poteet Good

Meanwhile, Cody Poteet was pitching a good ballgame. NY picked up Poteet in the winter as a backup starter — another brilliant move by this Yankee management which knows its pitching.

Poteet is a 29-year-old right hander who came up with Miami and started 9 games for them in 2021 and 2022. He signed with Kansas City for 2023 but blew out his arm, undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2023 season, getting released by the Royals. NY signed him this winter to a 1-yr contract.

He threw a good start for the Yanks in April, then was stashed in AAA the last 2 months — called up now to replace the injured Clarke Schmidt (lat strain).

Poteet used a 94-MPH sinker, 80-MPH sweeper, 87-MPH changeup, and 92-MPH four-seam fastball to navigate the Giants lineup.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Poteet gave some of it back in the bottom of the 3rd, walking Trenton Brooks and allowing a 2-run homer to shortstop Casey Schmitt for a 4-2 game.

But he shook that off and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th. In the 5th Poteet allowed a leadoff infield single, got strike out and fly out, but surrendered a 2-out RBI single to Brett Wisely to make it a 4-3 game.

Poteet got the final out of the 5th to keep it 4-3 — his line: 5 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 6 K’s, 1 walk. He gets the win to go 2-0 2.45.

4. Hamilton & Ferguson Protect Tight Lead

With the NY lead narrowed to 4-3, Ian Hamilton came in to pitch the 6th and did a great job — a 1-2-3 inning: strike out, ground out, strike out.

Caleb Ferguson came in for the bottom of the 7th — NY still clinging to the 4-3 lead. Ferguson walked the lead off batter, Mike Yastrzemski, on 4 pitches as Suzyn Waldman mused “Uh oh — that’s not how you want to start an inning” on the radio.

But Ferguson hung tough — striking out Heliot Ramos and then getting a double play groundout that the ump ruled Jorge Soler was ‘just safe’ on at 1st. The replays showed ‘just out’ although too close to overturn, and NY didn’t challenge.

Schmitt singled to right to put 1st and 2nd in the 4-3 game — but Caleb Ferguson got Brett Wisely to hit a shallow fly out to left to end the inning. PHEW.

5. Verdugo Triple, Stanton Put Game Away in 8th

And that was the most precarious part of the ballgame — because the Yankees blew it open in the top of the 8th.

It didn’t look like it would be that way as reliever Ryan Walker came in throwing a tough 96-MPH sinker/83-MPH slider combo that he struck out Volpe and Soto on.

But Aaron Judge reached on an infield single, and Alex Verdugo ripped a 96-MPH sinker over the head of Heliot Ramos in left — a ball that probably should have been caught by a good leftfielder — Judge scored from 1st and Verdugo legged it into a triple. NY 5 SF 3.

Then Giancarlo Stanton put the game away with a BLAST to left off an 84-MPH slider, just fair of the foul pole — for a 7-3 NY lead.

6. Kahnle & Holmes Finish

Tommy Kahnle pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th and Clay Holmes wrapped it up — walk, ground out, strikeout, double putting 2nd and 3rd, and fly out for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401569344

 

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