Judge continues power surge as Yanks beat Rays
NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge hit a mammoth two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday afternoon and the New York Yankees rallied for an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Judge homered for the third straight game when he drove a 1-1 pitch from Erasmo Ramirez well over the wall in center field and onto the netting above Monument Park.
Judge reached in his last three plate appearances and had a hand in New York rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth. He scored on a wild pitch during an at-bat to Matt Holliday and lined the game-tying single off Jumbo Diaz (0-1) in the sixth when New York scored four runs.
Others also helped the Yankees improve to 4-4.
Aaron Hicks drove in two runs without a hit and Jacoby Ellsbury added an RBI single. Chase Headley had two more hits and scored the tiebreaking run when Brett Gardner reached on a throwing error by Xavier Cedeno.
Rickie Weeks Jr. hit a two-run home run off Yankees' starter Jordan Montgomery. He also reached on a throwing error by Starlin Castro which allowed Steven Souza Jr. to score.
Weeks exited the game with neck and right shoulder soreness during a violent collision at first base with Gardner. Gardner also left the game and the Yankees said he bruised his jaw and strained his neck.
After Montgomery allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits in 4 2/3 innings in his major league debut, Bryan Mitchell (1-0) recorded the next four outs for the win.
Aroldis Chapman entered with two on and one out in the ninth and quickly recorded his first save.
Tampa Bay's Blake Snell allowed two unearned runs and two hits in 4 2/3 innings before Diaz and Cedeno gave up the lead.
NOTES: New York 1B Greg Bird was kept out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight day to give his sore ankle another day to heal, though he said he's feeling better. ... Tampa Bay OF Colby Rasmus (hip surgery) did on field work at Tropicana Field Wednesday but manager Kevin Cash said he is unsure of when Rasmus will resume a rehab assignment. ... Wednesday was the fourth time a Yankee made his major league debut against the Rays. The others were RHP Ian Kennedy in 2007, LHP Sean Henn in 2005 and RHP Orlando Hernandez in 1998. ... To make room for LHP Jordan Montgomery on the 40-man roster, the Yankees designated RHP Johnny Barbato for assignment.