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Tag: Luis Arraez

  • Yankees lose finale in Texas without Judge, end with 99 Ws

    Yankees lose finale in Texas without Judge, end with 99 Ws

    ARLINGTON, Texas — The New York Yankees settled for 99 wins in the regular season, and the American League record 62 home runs for slugger Aaron Judge.

    Their focus has already shifted to trying to win their 28th World Series title, and first since 2009.

    “This is the fun part of the year,” Judge said.

    Judge was out of the lineup a day after hitting his American League record 62nd homer, and the Yankees lost their regular-season finale 4-2 against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday to finish with 99 wins. At the beginning of July, New York was on pace for 118 wins, four more than the franchise record set in 1998.

    “AL East champs. I mean, that’s what we hope for in the regular season. You know, we put ourselves in a good spot now. So I guess first mission accomplished in that regard,” manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s some satisfaction in that. But, you know, our group … we want to win it all. And that’s what we’re focused on now.”

    Jose Trevino homered for the AL East champion Yankees (99-63), who missed a chance to reach 100 wins for the 22nd time and give the major leagues five 100-win teams for the first time. They get an extended break before opening the AL Division Series at home on Tuesday.

    While Judge made his case to play in the regular-season finale, Boone insisted on a break for after the slugger played 55 consecutive games, and 157 overall, in the pursuit of Roger Maris’ single-season home run mark that had stood since 1961.

    Fans in the crowd of 28,056 chanted “We Want Judge! We Want Judge!” in the ninth inning, hoping to get to see him get a shot at one more homer.

    “Not today. He got plenty of them all year,” Boone said. “Hopefully, we’ve got a lot left now in the postseason.”

    Judge finished with a .311 batting average, second in the AL behind the .316 of Minnesota’s Luis Arraez. Judge led the other Triple Crown categories with 62 homers and 131 RBIs.

    Charlie Culberson and Jonah Heim homered for the Rangers (68-94), who wrapped up their sixth consecutive losing season. Texas was 17-31 after interim manager Tony Beasley took over Aug. 15, when fourth-year manager Chris Woodward was fired and two days before president of baseball operations and longtime general manager Jon Daniels was also let go.

    Texas had lost seven games in a row before its 3-2 win in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday night.

    “It is good to be able to end on a winning note. Really we played a good series,” Beasley said. “ That was good for the guys to come out, compete until the end and not quit and not give up. … That’s a testament to the guys in that clubhouse and the character in the clubhouse and what they’re made out of. So those are positive signs of moving forward.”

    Rangers rookie Glenn Otto (7-10) struck out five and walked two while allowing two runs and four hits over six innings. Matt Moore, the third Texas reliever, worked the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

    New York starter Domingo Germán (2-5) gave up four runs over 4 1/3 innings, ending his career-best streak of 12 consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or fewer.

    Trevino’s solo homer in the fourth inning, his 11th overall but first in 40 games, put the Yankees up 2-1. Texas got even on Heim’s 16th homer in the bottom half, then went ahead in the fifth when Bubba Thompson had an RBI double and scored on Marcus Semien’s single.

    Veteran utility player Culberson, who played for only the third time in the past 32 games, hit his second homer in the third.

    SEATS

    A crowd of 28,056, a day after only the third home sellout, left attendance at 2,011,361 their 13th straight full season of 2 million or more. They drew 2,132,994 in 2019, the final season of their old ballpark.

    SHORT HOPS

    Rangers 1B Nathaniel Lowe singled and walked to finish the season batting .302, the team’s first qualifier to hit .300 since Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre both did in 2016. Lowe had 93 hits after the All-Star break. … The game broadcast Tuesday night on the Yankees’ YES Network averaged 636,000 viewers and peaked at 933,000 for the 8:15-8:30 p.m. EDT quarter hour, just after Judge’s 62nd homer. The Yankees are averaging 371,000 viewers on YES, their highest since 2011. … The Yankees had a plus-240 run differential, only the second time since 1955 it was that high. The other was plus-309 in 1998.

    POSTGAME CELEBRATION

    Boone said the entire team got together after Tuesday night’s game to celebrate Judge’s 61st homer and Gerrit Cole’s 257 strikeouts that broke Ron Guidry’s franchise single-season record set in 1978, when he was 25-3 and won the AL Cy Young Award.

    “Those two records to fall in probably 5, 7 minutes was crazy. It’s unbelievable,” said Boone, adding that the celebration included Guidry calling in to congratulate Cole, with the entire team able to hear and share in that.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Yankees: 2B Gleyber Torres missed the entire four-game series after being a late scratch from the starting lineup Monday for flu-like symptoms. Boone said Torres was feeling better and had no fever, but still was dealing with a sore throat and body aches. A COVID test came back negative.

    UP NEXT

    The Yankees host play Cleveland or Tampa Bay in the ALDS. The Rangers will have a managerial search, and their next game is the 2023 season opener March 30 at home against Philadelphia.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Judge out of Yankees starting lineup for finale after No. 62

    Judge out of Yankees starting lineup for finale after No. 62

    ARLINGTON, Texas — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge isn’t in the starting lineup for New York’s regular-season finale Wednesday, a day after his 62nd home run that broke Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League single-season record.

    When Judge homered in the first inning Tuesday night, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers, it was his 55th consecutive game. He has played in 157 games overall for the AL East champions.

    With the first-round bye in the playoffs, the Yankees won’t opening postseason play until the AL Division Series starts next Tuesday.

    Even though Judge had indicated that he hoped to play Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday night’s game that they would have a conversation “and see what makes the most sense.”

    Judge went into the final day of the regular season batting .311, trailing AL batting average leader Minnesota’s Luis Arraez, who was hitting .315. Judge was a wide leader in the other Triple Crown categories, with his 62 homers and 131 RBIs.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record

    Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record

    ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record and setting what some fans consider baseball’s “clean” standard.

    The long chase to top a mark set in 1961 ended when the 30-year-old Yankees slugger drove a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first row of seats in left field leading off the second game of New York’s day-night doubleheader.

    After No. 99 took a smooth, mighty swing, he had a wide smile on his face as he rounded the bases and his Yankees teammates streamed out of the dugout to celebrate with him. They stayed away from home plate, letting Judge step on it before sharing hugs and high-fives.

    Barry Bonds holds the major league record of 73 home runs, set with the San Francisco Giants in 2001.

    Judge’s mother and father were in the stands to see him end a five-game homerless streak, including Game 1 of the doubleheader when he was 1 for 5 with a single.

    The ball was caught by Cory Youmans of Dallas, who was sitting in Section 31. When asked what he was going to do with the ball while being taken away with security to have the ball authenticated, Youmans responded, “Good question. I haven’t thought about it.”

    Another fan was escorted away after leaping over the rail into a gap between the seats and the left-field wall.

    Judge, eligible to become a free agent after this season, struck out on a full-count pitch when batting again in the second.

    He took right field in the bottom of the inning before manager Aaron Boone pulled him from the game. Oswaldo Cabrera, who had been at second base, moved to right field and the slugger got another loud ovation as he jogged back to the Yankees dugout on the third base side.

    Reaction quickly came from far beyond the ballpark.

    “History made, more history to make,” President Joe Biden posted on Twitter.

    Tweeted former Yankees star Derek Jeter: “Congrats @TheJudge44 on 62! Postseason next!!!”

    Maris’ 61 for the Yankees had been exceeded six times previously, but all were tainted by the stench of steroids. Along with Bonds’ record, Mark McGwire hit 70 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998 and 65 the following year. The Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa had 66, 65 and 63 during a four-season span starting in 1998.

    McGwire admitted using banned steroids, while Bonds and Sosa denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball started testing with penalties for PEDs in 2004, and some fans — perhaps many — until now have considered Maris as holder of the legitimate record.

    A Ruthian figure with a smile as outsized as his body, the 6-foot-7 Judge has rocked the major leagues with a series of deep drives that hearken to the sepia tone movie reels of his legendary pinstriped predecessors.

    “He should be revered for being the actual single-season home run champ,” Roger Maris Jr. said Wednesday night after his father’s mark was matched by Judge. “I think baseball needs to look at the records and I think baseball should do something.”

    Judge had homered only once in the past 13 games, and that was when he hit No. 61 last Wednesday in Toronto. The doubleheader nightcap in Texas was his 55th game in row played since Aug. 5.

    Judge was 3 for 17 with five walks and a hit by pitch since moving past the 60 home runs Babe Ruth hit in 1927, which had stood as the major league record for 34 years. Maris hit his 61st off Boston’s Tracy Stallard at old Yankee Stadium on Oct. 1, 1961.

    Judge has a chance to become the first AL Triple Crown winner since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012. He leads the AL with 131 RBIs and began the day trailing Minnesota’s Luis Arraez, who was hitting .315.

    The home run in his first at-bat put him back to .311, where he had started the day before dropping a point in the opener.

    Judge’s accomplishment will cause endless debate.

    “To me, the holder of the record for home runs in a season is Roger Maris,” author George Will said earlier this month. “There’s no hint of suspicion that we’re seeing better baseball than better chemistry in the case of Judge. He’s clean. He’s not doing something that forces other players to jeopardize their health.”

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    AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Aaron Judge stays at 61 homers as Orioles beat Yankees 2-1

    Aaron Judge stays at 61 homers as Orioles beat Yankees 2-1

    NEW YORK — Back in the Bronx, Aaron Judge had another sellout crowd fill Yankee Stadium hoping to see No. 62. The wait will extend into a rain-threatened weekend.

    Judge went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks as the Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Friday night.

    “It was a pretty electric atmosphere,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I actually found myself kind of nervous for his first at-bat, maybe just being all focused on it.”

    One game after tying the American League home run record of 61 that Yankees star Roger Maris set in 1961, Judge struck out in the first inning, singled in the third and walked in the sixth against Jordan Lyles (12-11), then was intentionally walked in the eighth by rookie Félix Bautista.

    “It was an amazing atmosphere. Probably not an empty seat out there,” Lyles said. “Everyone’s standing up. Everyone’s getting ready for something possible, something great.”

    Fans among the 47,583 on a chilly autumn night buzzed for each for the 21 pitches to Judge. His next chance comes Saturday, the 61st anniversary of Maris’ No. 61.

    “After every swing he took, you could hear audible gasps from the whole entire crowd,” Orioles rookie catcher Adley Rutschman said. “Every time he swung and just a big buildup, so that was pretty cool.”

    Judge has six games left: two this weekend against the Orioles, then four at Texas that end the regular season.

    Judge also is bidding for the first Triple Crown since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012. Judge leads the AL with 130 RBIs and trails Minnesota’s Luis Arraez in the batting race by .3147 to .3141.

    The night was filled with bad news for the Yankees, already assured the AL East title and getting ready for their Division Series opener on Oct. 11.

    Reliever Zack Britton, just back last week from Tommy John surgery, threw a tiebreaking wild pitch in the sixth inning and immediately left with left arm fatigue.

    All-Star closer Clay Holmes had a cortisone injection Thursday and likely won’t pitch in a game until the playoffs.

    “There’s no use crying about what you do or don’t have,” Boone said. “You got to make the most of what you do. And the reality is we still have a lot of really talented guys down there.”

    Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and is 1 for 21 with 13 strikeouts in his last five games. He is hitting .140 in 100 at-bats since returning Aug. 25 from a month out with left Achilles tendinitis.

    “I’m hoping it’s still just a timing thing that he’s working through,” Boone said. “He’s struggling to find it right now.”

    Baltimore (81-76) was eliminated from playoff contention about two hours after the final out when Seattle beat Oakland. The Orioles assured they will stop a streak of five consecutive losing seasons.

    Ryan Mountcastle singled in a run in the first for his 84th RBI. Oswaldo Cabrera tied the score in the fifth with his fifth home run since his debut on Aug. 17.

    After going 52-110, the Orioles could become the first team since at least 1900 with a winning record one year after losing 110 or more.

    “It just means that we exceeded expectations and that our guys fought all year long,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “There’s a lot of appreciation for what these guys have done this year around the league and it’s well deserved.”

    MOUND MATTERS

    Lyles matched his career high for wins in 2019, allowing four hits in seven-plus innings. He tied his season high with nine strikeouts and walked one.

    Domingo Germán (2-4) walked his first two batters in the sixth and retired Mountcastle on a groundout, Britton walked Gunnar Henderson and then threw a pitch to pinch-hitter Jesús Aguilar that went to the backstop, and he failed to cover the plate. Rookie DL Hall pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his first save since 2019 at Class A.

    HE”S BACK

    DJ LeMahieu played seven innings at third base and went 0 for 3 in his first game for the Yankees since a stint on the IL caused by an inflamed right second tie. He was in a 2-for-38 slide through Sept. 4 before going on the IL.

    SPEEDING

    Cedric Mullins stole two bases and tied teammate Jorge Mateo for the AL lead with 34.

    WEB GEMS

    Gold Glove CF Harrison Bader sprinted to make a diving backhand catch against Mullins on the left-center warning track in front of the 399-foot sign for the final out of the fifth inning.

    HECTOR LÓPEZ REMEMBERED

    Hector López, a member of the Yankees’ 1961 and ’62 World Series champions, has died at age 93, MLB.com reported, citing his son, Darrol. The Yankees held a moment of silence before the game. López hit .269 with 136 homers and 591 RBIs over 12 seasons for the Kansas City Athletics (1955-59) and Yankees (1959-66). He became the first Black manager at Triple-A in 1969 with the Buffalo Bisons, the Washington Senators’ top farm team.

    TRAINER’S ROOM

    Yankees: INF-OF Matt Carpenter, sidelined since breaking his left toot on Aug. 8, took batting practice and could be activated for next week’s series at Texas, though the Yankees are leaning toward having him report to a camp at Somerset, New Jersey, where he could get more at-bats ahead of the Division Series … LHP Wandy Peralta, sidelined since Sept. 18 with back tightness, threw a bullpen and will throw another Sunday before the Yankees decide whether to activate him. … RHP Frankie Montas, out since Sept. 16 with right shoulder inflammation, likely will start throwing Saturday … OF Andrew Benintendi (broken wrist) is scheduled to take swings Saturday but not against pitchers. … RHP Michael King said Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek determined his UCL was intact. King broke his right elbow while pitching against Baltimore on July 22 and anticipates being cleared for a normal offseason.

    UP NEXT

    LHP Nestor Cortes (11-4, 2.56) is scheduled to start against Baltimore’s RHP Austin Voth (5-3, 4.19) on Saturday, with rain in the forecast.

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    More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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