TORONTO — A big blast from Aaron Judge put the surging Yankees on the path to yet another win.
Judge homered and drove in three runs, Jameson Taillon allowed one run in six innings, and the Yankees extended their win streak to 11 games by beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-1, on Tuesday night.
Yankees 9, Blue Jays 1 | Box Score | Play-by-Play
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run home run in the ninth, his fifth of the season. The Yankees lead the majors with 34 home runs this season, including 23 in the past 11 games.
“Everything is clicking,” Stanton said. “Timely hitting, the pitching has been great. We’ve just got to keep it going.”
Judge’s game-tying solo homer in the sixth inning was his ninth of the season, pulling him even with teammate Anthony Rizzo for the big-league lead.
“It definitely pumped some life into us,” Manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s 427-foot shot into the second deck.
Judge has 13 R.B.I. in his past five games, adding a two-run double in the Yankees’ six-run seventh inning.
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Taillon (2-1) allowed five hits, walked none, and struck out four to win his second straight decision.
“I thought that’s the best he’s thrown the ball since he’s been here, stuff-wise,” Boone said. “It’s really exciting what he’s doing.”
Josh Donaldson and Marwin Gonzalez each had R.B.I. doubles and Aaron Hicks reached base four times as the Yankees improved to 18-6. It’s the seventh time in franchise history that New York has won 18 of its first 24 games.
New York’s winning streak also is the longest in the majors this season (the Yankees won 13 straight games from Aug. 14 to 27 last year).
Mets Take Both Ends of Doubleheader
Mets Manager Buck Showalter saved veteran starter Carlos Carrasco for the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Atlanta, hoping the 35-year-old could adjust his game plan to pitch more innings if Game 1 taxed the Mets’ bullpen.
Everything seems to be working out as hoped for the first-place Mets.
Mets 5, Braves 4 (Game 1) | Box Score | Play-by-Play
Mets 3, Braves 0 (Game 2) | Box Score | Play-by-Play
Carrasco dodged trouble for eight innings, Pete Alonso homered against Kyle Wright on an off night for Atlanta’s breakout right-hander and the Mets beat the Braves, 3-0, Tuesday night to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Alonso had two R.B.I. singles in the opener as the Mets pounced early against Charlie Morton, and the Mets’ bullpen closed out a five-hitter to beat the Braves, 5-4. Alonso had two hits in each game.
Carrasco (2-1) stranded seven runners with some masterful work out of the stretch, keeping Atlanta off the board despite six hits and two walks. He threw 96 pitches and struck out five, bouncing back after allowing eight runs in his previous start against St. Louis.
“It’s a reminder of how good a pitcher he is,” Showalter said. “That’s a tough lineup to go through.”
Carrasco became the first Mets pitcher to finish eight innings this season. He helped his team pitch its major league-leading sixth shutout in 26 games this year.
Dominic Smith hit a two-run double against Wright (3-1) in the first, building off a four-hit game Sunday that may have preserved his spot when rosters shrunk from 28 to 26 on Monday.
Dusty Baker Gets 2,000th Win
HOUSTON — Just call him Mr. 2,000.
Houston Astros Manager Dusty Baker won his 2,000th game Tuesday night, becoming the 12th manager in major league history to reach the milestone and the first Black man to do it.
The benchmark victory came in Houston’s 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners and comes more than 29 years after he collected his first win on April 9, 1993, in San Francisco’s 2-1 victory over St. Louis.
Before Tuesday’s game, while still sitting at 1,999 wins, Baker was asked what it would mean to him to reach 2,000.
“You can’t look back because you have work to do going forward,” Baker said. “And you can’t gloat about what you’ve done until after your career is over with. Then when your career is over with, then you assess the entire situation. But while you’re in it, you don’t have time to do that.”
But the 72-year-old Baker did acknowledge that being the first Black manager to reach 2,000 wins makes the achievement more meaningful.
“It means extra,” he said. “It means extra to the culture. It means extra to society. It means extra to my race, and it means extra hopefully for others to get an opportunity.”
Box scores and summaries for the rest of Tuesday’s action.
