Aaron Judge drives in four runs with two homers as Yankees hold on to beat Orioles
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, celebrates his three-run home run with Anthony Rizzo (48) during the third inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) Credit: AP/Nick Wass
BALTIMORE — The Yankees got two more home runs from Aaron Judge — upping his MLB-leading total to 36 — and an impressive five-out save from Clay Holmes.
But it was what required the latter that was the primary headline from the Yankees’ 7-6 victory over the Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards.
Michael King, among MLB’s best relievers all season, suddenly left Friday’s game with one out in the eighth inning with a significant elbow injury. The righthander, who retired the first three batters he faced after coming in for Aroldis Chapman with one out in the seventh, began walking off the mound after throwing a third pitch, an 82-mph slider that went for a ball, in some kind of discomfort. Aaron Boone said King said “my elbow” before departing.
“I’m not going to speculate right now,’’ Boone said. “I wasn’t sure at first. You don’t like to see a pitcher come out of a game, obviously . . . He’s been one of the best pitchers in the league, so hope and pray for the best.
“I haven’t seen him since [he came out]. He’s getting looked at, getting those [tests]. He obviously means so much to this team, so our hearts and minds and our prayers are with him right now.”
The Yankees (65-30), whose hit total of nine included two doubles by Josh Donaldson, an RBI double by Jose Trevino and Joey Gallo’s 12th homer — a 413-foot shot to center that produced a 7-3 lead in the seventh — overcame another rough start by Jameson Taillon, who lasted only 2 2⁄3 innings.
Judge’s pair of two-out homers to left-center were a 436-foot three-run shot in the third that put the Yankees ahead 3-0 and a 465-foot missile in the fifth that cleared both bullpens, an area rarely visited by baseballs. At that point, he had five homers, 11 RBIs, a .533/.650/1.533 slash line and a 2.183 OPS in his last five games. He has 35 homers and 75 RBIs in his last 79 games.
“What more can you say? He’s been the best player in the league,’’ Boone said. “Tonight, the way he hit those balls, it’s just really impressive what he continues to do. A great play in centerfield that was timely. He’s just doing a little of everything.”
Chapman came on in the seventh, allowed a hit and a walk and threw two wild pitches before Anthony Santander hammered a slider for a 424-foot three-run homer to make it 7-6. Chapman has allowed at least one run in nine of his last 13 appearances, posting an 11.70 ERA in that stretch. Said Boone, “It’s obviously tough right now for him and he’s going through a tough time and grinding, but from what we’ve seen the past three weeks, it’s in there. We’ve just got to pull it out.”
Holmes allowed a one-out infield hit by Adley Rutschman in the ninth but struck out Trey Mancini looking at a slider and got Santander to ground out, earning his 17th save in 19 chances.
With two outs in the third, Gallo started things with a walk. DJ LeMahieu slashed a single to right and Judge launched his second three-run homer in as many nights.
One-out doubles by Donaldson and Trevino in the fourth pushed the Yankees’ lead to 4-2. Donaldson’s bloop double and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s RBI single in the sixth made it 6-2.
Afterward, the focus was on King.
What went through Judge’s mind as he watched him come out? “Nothing good,’’ he said. “You try to say a quick prayer and pray for a good outcome. But I saw the same thing happen to Greenie [Chad Green] the last time we were here and then to see this happen, it’s never good. Especially how big of a bullpen piece he’s been for us, the work he puts in day in and day out. It’s tough to see. He’s in our prayers, that’s for sure.”
Said Taillon, “That’s tough to watch. Definitely thinking about him. It was kind of a somber mood in here after the game. But he’s a hard worker and I know he’ll get back here and get back to the same spot that he was in. But it’s never easy seeing a guy walk off the field and then think about his girlfriend and family watching and stuff, that’s not easy for anyone to see. It’s tough.”
Taillon, though 10-2 with a 3.86 ERA coming in, had posted a 6.05 ERA in his previous eight outings and more resembled the latter pitcher. The righthander, who lacked command from the start, allowed two runs, four hits and a season-high three walks.
“Two-strike hits, two-strike walks, getting into good counts and then not making the right pitch to put them away,'' he said. "And then when I get back in the zone, it’s either getting hit or I stayed out of the zone and walked guys.
“I think it really comes down to making the right pitch in the right spot. Today I backed up a slider to [Jorge] Mateo and that’s kind of what I’ve been doing. When I’m going right, I get that slider in the right spot, knowing he’s an aggressive hitter . . . I’d say it’s just understanding the right areas to throw each of my strengths and then where to miss with it also.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
More Yankees headlines
