Yankees' Juan Soto hits tiebreaking three-run double in seventh to help complete sweep of Tigers
Juan Soto, New York Yankees rightfielder, reacts after connecting for a three-run double to break a 2-2 tie with the Tigers and give the Yankees a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Credit: James Escher
The Yankees faced two opponents on Sunday afternoon: Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who’s been nothing short of brilliant this season, and the cold, biting rain that peppered the Bronx from the first pitch to the game’s early termination after the top of the eighth inning.
It just so happens, though, that these Yankees have a few forces of nature of their own.
Juan Soto hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh and Aaron Judge homered as the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Tigers with a 5-2 victory.
“It was the worst,” Soto said of the conditions. “You see it out there. It was tough, it was really tough. I feel like everyone on the field, they were more worried about not getting hurt than even the game . . . but at the end of the day, we came up clutch.”
Did he ever.
With the score tied at 2, the Yankees got some traction against reliever Shelby Miller in the seventh as Jon Berti walked and Jose Trevino grounded a hit-and-run single through the right side to put runners at the corners. One out later, Miller walked Anthony Volpe to load the bases.
The Tigers brought in lefthander Andrew Chafin to face Soto, who lined a low sinker into the rightfield corner. The 107.2-mph laser rolled to the wall and all three runners scored, giving Soto a team-best 28 RBIs.
Judge walked and Giancarlo Stanton singled to load the bases, but Alex Verdugo lined to Chafin and Gleyber Torres lined to right.
Soto has a .440/.500/.880 slash line with two doubles, three homers, five walks, two sacrifice flies and 22 RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.
“I think I just like big moments,” he said. “I like to be up there and it just gives me a little bit of adrenaline going and I want to get the job done so bad.”
Soto’s big hit compensated for an atypical lapse by the usually pristine Yankees bullpen, as Ian Hamilton allowed two of Nestor Cortes’ inherited runners to score in the top of the seventh to tie it at 2-2.
The Yankees had moderate success against Skubal, who entered the day with a 1.72 ERA.
A day after getting ejected for the first time in his career, Judge re-announced his presence in loud fashion in the first inning, sending the lefthander’s 97-mph fastball 399 feet to right-centerfield for his seventh homer. Oswaldo Cabrera tacked on an opposite-field RBI double in the second for a 2-0 lead.
It was about as much as you could hope for against Skubal, who came into the day leading all qualified American League pitchers with a 0.74 WHIP. He struck out 12 and allowed two runs, six hits and no walks in six innings, at one point retiring eight batters in a row.
“Wins are precious in this league,” Aaron Boone said. “[It’s] a team that came in playing really well and pitching as well. They got their ace going today, who you know is going to be a load. Yeah, it’s really good to shake hands three times going into an off day.”
Despite the nasty conditions, Cortes proved more than capable. He struck out nine and allowed three hits, two runs and a walk in 6 1⁄3 innings as the Yankees (23-13) moved a season-high 10 games over .500.
Cortes was able to bounce back from a shaky outing against Baltimore in which he allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings. He cruised before allowing singles by Mark Canha and Jake Rogers in the seventh, prompting Boone to call on Hamilton with one out.
Spencer Torkelson got around on Hamilton’s inside slider, grounding it down the leftfield line to make it 2-1 and put runners on second and third. After Colt Keith walked, Javier Baez hit a roller to short that was too softly hit to be turned into a double play, tying it at 2.
It was a good effort by Cortes, considering what the pitchers were dealing with.
“I felt like every ball I got from the umpire was a little wet,” he said. “I had to make sure that I was rubbing it and keeping it as dry as possible . . . but I was able to manage.”
Notes & quotes: DJ LeMahieu (foot) took swings on Saturday and Sunday, but Boone said he doesn’t anticipate that he will begin a rehab assignment this week . . . Gerrit Cole (elbow) reacted well to his 15-pitch bullpen session Saturday and is expected to get back on the mound this week.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
