The Yankees clubbed four home runs on Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and won, 6-3.
Here are the takeaways…
– The scoring began in the top of the second inning after DJ LeMahieu hit a one-out triple to bring up Jake Bauers. The left fielder then unloaded on a Michael Grove slider and deposited it 414 feet into the right field seats.
– Gerrit Cole was unfortunate to give up a run in the next half-inning after getting the first two outs of the frame. Cole hit Jason Heyward on an 0-2 pitch and then gave up a pop-fly single perfectly placed towards the left field line where Anthony Volpe, Bauers and LeMahieu all converged with nobody able to make the catch. Heyward scored from first to cut New York’s lead in half.
– The Yankees would extend their lead in the fourth inning thanks to Bauers yet again. With a runner on first and two outs, Bauers launched his second two-run homer of the game, this time on a 2-2 fastball that he crushed 409 feet.
The 27-year-old who had spent three seasons in the majors with three different clubs, most recently with the Seattle Mariners in 2021, signed a minor-league contract with New York in the offseason and was a non-roster invitee to spring training .
In 59 at-bats with the Yankees this season, Bauers already has five home runs, one more than he hit in 2021 in 282 at-bats with the Mariners and Cleveland Guardians.
– Cole made sure to make it count this time around and finished his night by going six innings and giving up one earned run on four hits, two walks and striking out five. He was done after just 80 pitches and left the game due to cramping.
– In Cole’s place, Wandy Peralta began the seventh inning but struggled and was unable to record an out. He exited after the minimum three batters required to face, but gave up a single, triple and a walk and left a mess for Michael King.
– However, King wore the crown well and escaped the jam by allowing only one run to score. He pitched two innings and allowed just one hit while striking out three.
– Aaron Judge homered in the sixth down the left-field line for his 19th of the season, but it was his catch in right field in the eighth inning that really got people going. With a runner on first in a 5-3 game, JD Martinez hit a bullet out towards the right-center field wall that Judge ran down and caught, crashing into the fence in the process for a spectacular sight.
The 6-foot-7, 280-pound Judge was fine after the collision, but the fence suffered some broken hinges and a torn ACL and is headed to the IL.
– Oswaldo Cabrera added a solo shot in the ninth to give Clay Holmes some insurance before he locked down his sixth save of the season.
What’s next
The Yankees and Dodgers play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday Night Baseball starting at 7:10 pm
RHP Domingo German (3-3, 3.98 ERA) goes for the Yanks, opposed by RHP Bobby Miller (2-0, 1.64 ERA) for Los Angeles.