Judge hits MLB-leading 31st home run and Cole gets 1st win of season as Yankees rout Blue Jays 8-1

Sun, Jun 30, 2024
MLB News (AP)

TORONTO (AP) - Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 31st home run, Gerrit Cole pitched five innings for his first win of the season and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Sunday to split their four-game series.

Juan Soto was a late addition to New York's lineup after sitting out Saturday's loss because of a bruised right hand. The three-time All-Star and 2020 NL batting champion went 1 for 3 with an RBI and two walks.

DJ LeMahieu and Trent Grisham each had two hits and two RBIs for the Yankees. Ben Rice scored twice and drove in a run.

Gleyber Torres went 2 for 5, his third straight multihit game since a two-game benching last week.

New York finished a 2-4 trip that started with two losses in Queens against the Mets.

Cole (1-1) started the first of those interleague defeats, allowing six earned runs in four innings. He bounced back against the Blue Jays, permitting one run and three hits - all singles. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner struck out one and walked six. He threw a season-high 90 pitches, 61 for strikes, in his third start this year since returning from an elbow injury.

Michael Tonkin got five outs, Tim Hill retired all four batters he faced and Josh Maciejewski finished for New York.

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Soto singled off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman in the first and scored when Judge sent a 423-foot drive to center. It was Judge's fifth career homer off Gausman, the most he's hit off any opposing pitcher.

Gausman (6-7) allowed a season-worst seven earned runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked a season-high five and struck out seven. The right-hander has lost three of his past four starts.

Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier took a home run away from Alex Verdugo in the eighth, leaping above the center-field wall to make a spectacular catch.

Verdugo was called out on a two-strike pitch clock violation to end the fourth, stranding two.

ROSTER MOVES

New York selected Maciejewski's contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and designated RHP Phil Bickford for assignment.

TORONTO TRADE

The Blue Jays acquired RHP Yerry Rodriguez from Texas for minor league RHP Josh Mollerus. Toronto assigned Rodriguez to Triple-A Buffalo.

TRAINER'S ROOM

New York transferred the rehab assignment of RHP JT Brubaker (elbow surgery) from the rookie-level Florida Complex League to Double-A Somerset.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Rookie RHP Luis Gil (9-3, 3.15 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday as New York returns home to begin a three-game series against Cincinnati. The Reds had not announced a starter.

Blue Jays: RHP Yariel Rodriguez (0-2, 5.94 ERA) starts Monday afternoon in a Canada Day matinee against Houston RHP Hunter Brown (5-5, 4.37).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb