Yankees overcome rough outing from Gerrit Cole, explode in eighth to down Royals
NEW YORK — The Yankees offense washed away their recent struggles by mostly anyone in the lineup not named Aaron Judge. It took a 23-minute rain delay before the top of the eighth inning, but the bottom of the frame allowed an eight-run rally to push the Yankees ahead of the Royals, 11-5, on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Trailing 5-3 heading into the eighth, Aaron Judge struck out to start the inning and then dealt the final blow to the Royals later in the inning. A grand slam by Judge was his second of the game and 41st of the season, tying an American League record that has not been matched in 90 years.
"He's amazing," manager Aaron Boone said after the game. "He's just doing some really special things."
Aside from hitting two of his own, Judge also robbed MJ Melendez of a home run in right field during the first at-bat of the game. Judge was cut by some of the fencing on his way down, but did not need any treatment and clearly did not hurt his play in the rest of the game.
"Maybe you should give him three tonight with the robbery right out of the gate," joked Boone.
Needing a rally in the eighth, consecutive one-out hits by Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres made things interesting for Josh Donaldson, who reached on an error by third baseman Nicky Lopez. Andrew Benintendi came to the plate seeking his first hit with his new club and struck an infield single that saw the bases remain loaded and the Yankees trailing by only one run.
Aaron Hicks thought he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but it was overturned by review. Hicks would later walk to bring in the tying run. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa gave the Yankees the lead with a single and Jose Trevino added a run with an RBI groundout right after. DJ LeMahieu would walk to reload the bases for Aaron Judge, who completed the big inning with a grand slam to right field.
"It feels just like any other time, especially when you've got the lineup that we do," said Judge. "Top to bottom, and now with Benintendi, it makes it fun."
Cole undone by soggy fifth inning
The rain fell in the top of the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. Gerrit Cole's strong start against Kansas City fell with it.
Cole had not allowed a runner past second base, striking out five and allowing two hits during the first four innings. As the passing shower came and went, so did Cole's lead in Friday night's start against the Royals. Five straight hits with two outs put a damper on Cole's outing, capped off by a home run by Salvador Perez on an 0-1 count in his first game since June 21.
"It's just my fault," said Cole about the home run surrendered. "We have leverage there. We don't have to throw a strike and ultimately, we threw a strike and Salvy put an incredible swing on it and lost us the lead. We just have to pick better pitches and execute better pitches."
The Royals had been shut out for 31 straight innings before that five-run inning against Cole, having been shut out for three consecutive games entering Friday.
Cole surrendered four straight singles before that home run, including a ball that went underneath the reach of Isaiah Kiner-Falefa that would have ended the inning. Cole finished the inning and then struck out the side in the top of the sixth, finishing with nine strikeouts in six innings. Cole's earned run average increased to 3.30 after the start.
Rizzo and Judge provide early power
A home run accounted for all but one of the runs scored by the Yankees since the Subway Series began earlier this week. That trend continued early on Friday with a pair of blasts that gave the Yankees a quick 3-0 lead.
Anthony Rizzo's first inning home run, his 24th of the season, was the first hit for either side and gave the Yankees a fast start offensively.
Watch:Aaron Judge ties AL record for homers before August, hits 40th and 41st vs. Royals
Aaron Judge would follow two innings later, striking his 40th home run of the year, a two-run shot to put the Yankees up by three after three innings. Adding another one late in the game, Judge's 41 home runs ties him with Babe Ruth's team record in 1928, as well as Jimmie Foxx in 1932, for the most home runs by an American League hitter in a season before August 1.
Despite knocking down team and league records, Judge remains focused on team success over his own historic pace.
"The team is in first place," said Judge. "I think that's the most important thing."
Judge is currently on pace for 66 home runs, which would set a Yankees franchise record for a single season and tie him with Sammy Sosa in 1998 for the third-most by any player in Major League history.
"Not at all," said Judge on looking at a 60-home run campaign. "I shouldn't say not at all, but the focus now is on winning baseball games. We can talk about stats at the end of the season."
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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees overcome Gerrit Cole struggles to down Royals
