The Yankees hit three home runs and scored 10 runs for the third straight game to overpower the Seattle Mariners, 10-2, on Tuesday night.
Takeaways
– The Yankees got off to a quick start with a three-run first inning thanks to a two-run single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa that scored Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge. A Jake Bauers sac fly capped the inning, giving the Yanks a 3-0 lead.
IKF finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and a run. In his last seven games, the utility man has gone 10-for-25 (.400) with a home run, 10 RBI and six runs scored. Torres continued his hot streak going 2-for-5 with a run scored. In his last seven games, he’s 10-for-31 (.323) with two home runs and three RBI.
-After a day off, Anthony Volpe was back in the lineup and had a couple of chances to add more runs on the board for the Yankees. The first time was in the first inning when he struck out with IKF on third. In the third inning, with men on second and third and two outs, Volpe launched a 90-mph slider from starter Logan Gilbert that was low in the zone over the left-field wall to put the Yankees up 6-0. Going into that at-bat, Volpe was 5-for-41.
The rookie is still having trouble with plate discipline. He finished 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
–Nestor Cortes was on the mound on Tuesday night and while he was given a lot of run support, he had a solid start in Seattle. Cortes dominated the Mariners lineup until the fifth inning. In that inning, Ty France hit a one-out double to score the first Mariner run, and after a Julio Rodriguez strikeout, Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-out double to score France to cut the Yankees lead to 7-2.
Cortes would finish the inning without further damage, but his troubling trend of struggling late in his starts continued. After Tuesday’s start, Cortes now has a 14.67 ERA in the fifth inning and later this season, which is the worst among all pitchers in MLB (minimum 10 IP).
Cortes’ final line: 5 IP (101 pitches/66 strikes), five hits, two runs, three walks and six strikeouts.
-Judge continued mashing in the Pacific Northwest, launching a solo homer in the seventh for his AL-leading 18th home run of the season. It’s his third home run in the series so far. Judge finished 1-for-3 with two walks and two strikeouts.
In his first 46 games last season, Judge hit 18 home runs. In his first 46 games this season, the reigning AL MVP has 18 home runs — and that includes his short stint on the IL earlier this month.
–Jose Trevino returned from the IL on Tuesday and went 0-for-4 with a walk. Greg Allen — who may be with the team for the near future with Harrison Bader heading to the IL with a hamstring injury — hit a solo shot in the fourth to put the Yanks up 7-0 at the time. He finished 1-for-4.
With Cortes’ short outing, Michael King pitched two clean innings while Ryan Weber did the same to close out the win.
Highlights
What’s Next
The Yankees look for the three-game sweep as they take on the Mariners on Wednesday night in their series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 pm.
Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.58 ERA) will be on the mound for the Yankees as he goes up against RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.43 ERA).