Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. blast home runs as New York Yankees stop Texas Rangers.
It was a tough night for Jack Leiter and the Texas Rangers, who were looking to take the first game of a three-game series against the New York Yankees on Monday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
But Ben Rice, Aaron Judge, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had other ideas. Those three Yankees players hit home runs off of Leiter as New York had to hold on late for a 4-2 victory.
Leiter, whose record falls to 1-2 with the loss, worked six innings, gave up eight hits, four Yankees runs (all earned), walked one, and struck out four. Leiter's ERA now sits at a harrowing 5.17. Peyton Gray and Gavin Collyer pitched the final three innings for the Rangers on Monday night.
The Yankees built a 4-0 lead that held up throughout much of the game. Things got interesting late in the ninth inning as the Rangers mounted a rally, but it fell short.
Joc Pederson Homers
Texas scored a run in the seventh inning on a Joc Pederson solo blast, his second homer this season, that went over the left-center field wall. But the Rangers' offense was kept pretty much in check all game long.
Yankees starter Max Fried was on his game. Fried goes to 4-1 on the season with the win. He worked six innings of four-hit ball, walking two and striking out five. Fried's ERA dropped to 2.09, making him one of the Yankees' most effective starting pitchers.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Josh Smith, with two outs, reached first base as Chisholm committed an error.
Alejandro Osuna came to the plate with runners at first and third with two outs. Osuna singled to center, scoring Jake Burger from third base and getting the Rangers a bit closer. Osuna went down and golfed a low pitch from Yankees reliever David Bednar, making it 4-2 Yankees.
Ezequiel Durán stepped to the plate with runners at first and second base. But Durán grounded out to short and that ended the ballgame. Bednar picked up his eighth save of the season, giving up two hits and one run (it was unearned).
The Yankees' pitching proved to be too much for Rangers hitters mostly all game long.
Rice, Judge Go Back-to-Back
In the top of the third inning, Rice hit his 10th home run this season to center field. Trent Grisham scored ahead of Rice to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Judge followed Rice and hit a laser over the left-field wall for his 11th home run this season.
That put the Yankees up 3-0 at that point. Judge finished the game going 3-for-3 with his home run and two doubles.
Then, in the top of the fourth on Leiter's first pitch, Chisholm sent a ball high and over the right-center field wall. The Yankees were up 4-0 then, and the game was pretty much over.
With the victory, the Yankees go to 19-10 overall and sit in first place in the American League East Division. The Rangers fall to 14-15, putting them in second place in the American League West Division.
The series continues on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, followed by a Wednesday afternoon game to close it out.
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