Even Before the First Ball was Thrown on Friday, Aaron Judge Impressed Aaron Boone
In the inaugural trip to the Bronx by the new Guardians, Judge led New York to a 4-1 victory over Cleveland with a pair of opposite-field home runs and a runner thrown out from the center field. Michael King, a reliever, contributed to New York’s victory by fanning his final seven batters while striking out eight in three innings.
When Judge followed a two-out walk to DJ LeMahieu in the third with a drive into the right-field seats and then over the new video board that replaced a hand-operated scoreboard, he gave the Yankees the lead against Eli Morgan (1-0). In the fifth off Tanner Tully, a left-hander making his major league debut, Judge added a single shot into the short porch.
Judge began the season with just one home run after terminating negotiations for a long-term term deal on the first day of the season. After the World Series, Judge, who is a free agent, will have played in 17 games with two home runs.
When Andrés Giménez reached on a slow bouncer to start the fifth, New York was up 3-1. On Steven Kwan’s single to center, he attempted to advance to third but held off after rounding second. Josh Donaldson, the third baseman, tagged Judge with a 90.6 mph pitch.
In 5 innings, Jameson Taillon (1-0) gave up one run and seven hits, including the home run by Franmil Reyes in the fourth. With 21 fastballs, 22 curveballs, 13 changeups, 14 sliders, 8 sinkers, and 6 cutters, Taillon kept Cleveland off-balance.
King struck out Kwan four times in 51 plate appearances this season while also giving up one hit. King faced Reyes, his first batter, with a 3-0 count. Boone is not currently considering adding King to the rotation.
For his fourth save in four opportunities, Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a ninth inning with one hit.
José Ramirez, who had the greatest big league average of .426 coming in, went 0 for 4 and had his average fall to .392. Kwan’s average increased to .395 after his single and double, but Cleveland struck out 15 times and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
Morgan made his first start of the year, taking Cal Quantrill’s place when he tested positive for COVID-19. During three innings, Morgan allowed one hit and two runs.
After the game, in the clubhouse amidst smiles and laughter, Judge was still unsure of the expression Boone was referring to.
UP NEXT
If Quantrill (1-0) clears COVID-19 requirements, he will be activated to start on Saturday, and Tully will be optioned to Triple-A Columbus. The Yankees‘ LHP Nestor Cortes (0-0) will have the ball first.
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