Yankees at Blue Jays
Aaron Judge has been named the American League Rookie of the Month for both April and May, and the New York Yankees' powerhouse is off to a pretty good start in June as well. Fresh off belting his majors-best 18th homer, Judge carries a six-game hitting streak into Saturday afternoon's third contest of a four-game series against the host Toronto Blue Jays.
Starlin Castro joined Judge with a two-run homer on Friday, but Josh Donaldson launched a pair of solo shots as Toronto recorded a 7-5 victory to even the series at one win apiece. The Blue Jays have won six of the first eight contests of their 10-game homestand, with Donaldson accounting for three homers among his six hits and four runs during the last four outings. Justin Smoak also went deep to highlight his second straight two-hit performance and has three homers among his 10 hits with eight RBIs and seven runs scored during the homestand. The Yankees' road trip hasn't been as successful, as the American League East leaders have dropped three of five to begin a stretch of 13 straight games versus their division adversaries.
TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), Sportsnet One (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees LH Jordan Montgomery (2-4, 4.11 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Joe Biagini (1-3, 3.64)
Montgomery fell to 0-3 in his last four outings on Monday after allowing three runs (one earned) on eight hits in a season-low 4 1/3 innings of a 3-2 setback at Baltimore. The 24-year-old rookie kept the ball in the park for the first time in four outings, but was undone by an error from Castro that led to two unearned runs as well as - by his account - "too many two-out hits" that led to driving up his pitch count (100). Montgomery will be making his 10th career start and first against Toronto on Saturday.
Biagini is also trying to get out of a recent slump as the 27-year-old fell to 0-2 in his last three outings Sunday despite recording career highs in innings pitched (six), pitches (95) and strikeouts (seven). "From a personal standpoint, it was important for me to see myself kind of be able to handle the work load, continuing to expand," Biagini told reporters following the 3-1 loss to Texas last time out. Biagini struggled mightily in his last encounter with New York, permitting three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings to take the loss on May 3.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York OF Aaron Hicks is 6-for-9 in the series and has 10 RBIs during his six-game hitting streak.
2. Blue Jays DH Kendrys Morales is 3-for-7 with a homer and two runs scored in this series and has six hits against the Yankees this season.
3. Toronto RHP Aaron Sanchez (blister), who was the AL's ERA leader last season, is expected to play catch Sunday as he works his way through his third stint on the disabled list this season.