Bronx, NY — Aaron Judge launched a two-run home run, and rookie Will Warren fanned a career-best 10 batters as the New York Yankees rolled past the Texas Rangers, 5-2, Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Ben Rice also homered, and Anthony Volpe chipped in with an RBI double to help open the three-game set between the last two American League pennant winners. Rice was responsible for New York’s first two runs and added a sacrifice fly in a productive night at the plate.
With the win, the Yankees improved to 28-19 and pushed nine games above .500 for the first time this season, having now taken nine of their last 12 games.
Texas, meanwhile, stumbled again, dropping three of their last four following a six-game winning streak. Frustration boiled over in the sixth inning when Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was tossed by home plate umpire Carlos Torres during Judge’s at-bat.
New York was up 3-0 heading into the eighth when Judge extended the lead with a short but effective home run — a 326-foot shot that barely cleared the right-field foul pole. It marked his 16th homer of the season, keeping pace atop the AL leaderboard.
Rice had earlier crushed a solo homer into the second deck in right field off Texas starter Patrick Corbin (3-3), his 10th long ball of the year.
Warren (3-2) turned in an impressive outing, scattering five hits and walking just one across 5 2/3 innings to earn his third big league win — and second in a row.
The Rangers avoided a shutout thanks to Jonah Heim’s two-run homer off reliever Ian Hamilton with two outs in the ninth. Luke Weaver came on with a runner at third and sealed the victory by getting Josh Smith to pop out, notching his sixth save.
Defining Moment:
The sixth inning saw the Rangers threatening with the bases loaded. Warren froze Marcus Semien with a perfectly placed third strike, and reliever Mark Leiter Jr. followed by striking out Joc Pederson to end the inning. Earlier in the frame, Oswald Peraza made a highlight-reel catch, flipping over the rolled-up tarp to snag a foul ball.
Stat of the Night:
Cody Bellinger extended his hitting streak to a personal-best 14 games, dropping a soft single into right field during the fourth inning. The hit helped set the stage for Rice’s sacrifice fly.
On Deck:
The series continues Wednesday night with Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.70 ERA) taking on Rangers ace Jacob deGrom (4-1, 2.29 ERA), who returns to New York, where he previously starred with the Mets and won two NL Cy Young Awards.
