Toronto @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 3, 2024 ) Toronto 3, NY Yankees 8
After seeing Aaron Judge hit his 41st homer of the season in the first inning on Saturday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider had seen enough and intentionally walked the New York Yankees slugger with two outs and nobody on an inning later.
"I honestly didn't feel like seeing him swing," Schneider said after the game. "That was kind of it. We talked about being really careful with him, and I think like I said, that's what can lead to mistakes when you're really trying to be very fine."
Judge has homered in both games of this three-game series between and the host Yankees and Blue Jays. He hopes to see more big swings while Toronto attempts to find a way to get him out Sunday afternoon when the American League East foes meet in the rubber game of this series and conclude their season set.
Gerrit Cole (3-2, 5.40 ERA) will go for the Yankees while the Blue Jays will send rookie Yariel Rodriguez (1-4, 4.31) to the mound in a matchup of right-handers.
The Yankees evened the season series at six games apiece with an 8-3 victory Saturday. Judge hit his 16th first-inning home run of the season when he connected off Jose Berrios, in the process tying the club record set by Babe Ruth in 1927.
"Things like that happen every now and then; it's on us to take advantage," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Judge reached base multiple times for the 70th time and has six homers in his past eight games and nine in his past 17. Judge is hitting .421 (24-for-57) over his past 17 games, giving him an overall average of .321 to go with 103 RBIs.
"That's a pretty good season for a lot of people, but for him he's halfway through," New York starting pitcher Carlos Rodon said.
Judge's latest blast occurred as the Yankees won for the sixth time in seven games after dropping 23 of 33.
While Judge is hot enough to warrant a bases-empty intentional walk, equally scorching is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays' first baseman went 3-for-4 with his 22nd home run on Sunday. He is batting .525 (31-for-59) with nine homers and 18 RBIs during a 16-game hitting streak, during which he has raised his average to .318.
"It's fun to watch him right now, and all of a sudden it's 15 homers in the last month, something crazy," Schneider said. "It's what he's capable of."
Guerrero's latest big day occurred in a game when the Blue Jays trailed by five, made two errors and loaded the bases in the ninth before George Springer struck out.
Springer started as the designated hitter after fouling a ball off his left shin Friday but could return to the outfield Sunday.
Cole, against whom Guerrero is hitting .344 (11-for-32), returns after being scratched from Tuesday's outing in Philadelphia due to general fatigue.
Cole is starting for the first time since allowing six runs on eight hits, including three homers, over 5 2/3 innings of a 12-3 home loss to the New York Mets on July 24. He is 9-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 17 career starts against the Blue Jays and held them to one run on three hits in five innings June 30 in Toronto.
Rodriguez will make his 11th career start, and the Blue Jays hope it lasts longer than the first game of Monday's doubleheader in Baltimore, when he allowed four runs on four walks and one hit while getting only two outs and throwing 43 pitches.
Before struggling against the Orioles, Rodriguez was 1-1 with a 2.01 ERA in his previous four outings.
Rodriguez, who is allowing opponents to bat .214 this season, will face the Yankees for the first time.
--Field Level Media