TORONTO — A big shot by Aaron Judge put the Yankees on course for another victory.
Judge homered and drove in three runs, Jameson Taillon allowed one run in six innings and the Yankees extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 9-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Yankees 9, Blue Jays 1 | Score box | play to play
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the ninth, his fifth of the season. The Yankees lead the majors with 34 home runs this season, including 23 in the last 11 games.
“Everything is clicking,” Stanton said. “Timely hitting, pitching has been great. We just have to keep it going.”
Judge’s game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning was his ninth of the season, putting him even with teammate Anthony Rizzo for the major league lead.
“It definitely injected some life into us,” manager Aaron Boone said of Judge’s 427-foot shot to the second deck.
Judge has 13 RBIs in his last five games, adding a two-run double in the Yankees’ six-run seventh inning.
The 2022 MLB season
A season that was in doubt is suddenly in full swing.
Taillon (2-1) allowed five hits, walked none and struck out four to win his second straight decision.
“I think he’s the best he’s thrown the ball since he’s been here, things-wise,” Boone said. “It’s really exciting what he’s doing.”
Josh Donaldson and Marwin Gonzalez each had RBI doubles and Aaron Hicks reached base four times as the Yankees improved to 18-6. It is the seventh time in franchise history that New York has won 18 of its first 24 games.
New York’s winning streak is also the longest in the majors this season (the Yankees won 13 straight from Aug. 14-27 last year).
Mets take both ends of doubleheader
Mets manager Buck Showalter saved veteran starter Carlos Carrasco for the final night of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Atlanta, hoping the 35-year-old could adjust his game plan to pitch more innings if the Game 1 overwhelms the Mets’ bullpen.
Everything seems to be working out as expected for the first-place Mets.
Mets 5, Braves 4 (Game 1) | Score box | play to play
Mets 3, Braves 0 (game 2) | Score box | play to play
Carrasco dodged eight innings of trouble, Pete Alonso homered off Kyle Wright on a bad night for Atlanta’s right-hander and the Mets beat the Braves, 3-0, on Tuesday night to complete a doubleheader.
Alonso had two RBI singles in Game 1 as the Mets attacked Charlie Morton early, and the Mets’ bullpen closed out a five-hit run to beat the Braves, 5-4. Alonso had two hits in each game.
Carrasco (2-1) stranded seven runners with a masterful job down the stretch, keeping Atlanta off the board despite six hits and two walks. He threw 96 pitches and struck out five, rebounding after giving up eight runs in his previous start against St. Louis.
“It’s a reminder of what a great pitcher he is,” Showalter said. “That’s a tough lineup to beat.”
Carrasco became the first Mets pitcher to finish eight innings this season. He helped his team throw their sixth major league shutout in 26 games this year.
Dominic Smith had a two-run double against Wright (3-1) in the first, building a four-hit game on Sunday that may have preserved his spot when the rosters dropped from 28 to 26 on Monday.
Dusty Baker scores 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 so.
The landmark victory came in Houston’s 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners and comes more than 29 years after he earned his first victory on April 9, 1993, in San Francisco’s 2-1 victory over St.Louis.
Before Tuesday’s game, when he still had 1,999 wins, Baker was asked what reaching 2,000 would mean to him.
“You can’t look back because you have work to do in the future,” Baker said. “And you can’t gloat about what you’ve done until after your career is over. Then, when your run is over, you assess the whole situation. But while you’re at it, you don’t have time to do that.”
But Baker, 72, acknowledged that being the first black coach to reach 2,000 wins makes the achievement more significant.
“It means extra,” he said. “It means extra for the culture. It means extra for society. It means more for my career, and it means more hope for others to have a chance.”
Scores and summaries of the rest of Tuesday’s action.