Red-hot Aaron Judge hits towering home run as Yankees blank Twins, take series
Aaron Judge remained hot at the plate on Wednesday night, going 4 for 4 with a home run, three doubles and a walk in the Yankees’ 4-0 win over Minnesota.
The homer, Judge’s first hit of the night, crashed into the upper deck in left at Target Field. The first-inning solo blast off of Twins ace Pablo López traveled 467 feet at 113 mph and gave the Yankees an early lead in a series-clinching victory.
Judge, who also drove in a run with a seventh-inning double, had slashed .371/.500/.829 with four doubles, four homers and nine RBIs over his last 10 games prior to Wednesday. The center fielder, battling some early-season struggles, was hitting .197 with a .725 OPS before that stretch.
Judge is now batting .255 with a .926 OPS following Wednesday’s performance. He’s leading the Yankees with 11 dingers, and his 29 RBIs ranks second on the team.
While Judge provided the slugging, the Yankees scored their second run in the second inning when Anthony Volpe flew out to Minnesota’s Willi Castro for the second out of the frame. However, Castro thought he had corralled the third out and began jogging toward the Twins’ dugout. The boneheaded play — one of several defensive mistakes Castro has made this series — allowed Gleyber Torres to tag up and score.
The Yankees plated their third run in the third inning when Giancarlo Stanton picked up a broken-bat single.
That was the last run charged to the right-handed López, who totaled 6 1/3 innings, 10 hits, three earned runs, zero walks and three strikeouts over 96 pitches.
While the Yankees knocked López around, Marcus Stroman kept the Twins scoreless for six strong innings.
The righty walked three and only struck out two, but Stroman permitted just two hits over 91 pitches. Two of those walks came in the second inning, when Stroman also worked around a Volpe fielding error.
Stroman, off in his last few starts, now has a 3.33 ERA this season.
The Yankees and Twins will wrap up their series with a matinee on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and will be thrown by Minnesota’s Joe Ryan.
The right-hander has a 3.21 ERA through eight starts this season.
Clarke Schmidt will start the finale for the Yankees. The righty matched the longest start of his career last time out, logging 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays on May 10.
Schmidt has a 2.95 ERA after eight starts.
Kahnle getting closer
Tommy Kahnle (delayed throwing program) is scheduled to make two more rehab appearances this week, according to the New York Post. Kahnle will throw on Thursday, his first time on one day’s rest, before pitching again on Sunday.
From there, it’s possible Kahnle joins the Yankees’ active roster for the first time this season.
