AARON Judge reached 60 homers when he led off the ninth inning with a drive to the left field bleachers, and the milestone blast sparked a five-run rally that gave the York Yankees a 9-8 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
Judge joined Babe Ruth (60 in 1927) and Roger Maris (61 in 1961) as the third AL player to reach 60 when he drove a 3-1 sinker about halfway up the left field bleachers. The Yankees won it four batters later when Giancarlo Stanton hit a game-ending grand slam off Wil Crowe (5-10), who also served up Judge’s blast.
Judge took a curtain call for the 430-foot drive, which came after the Pirates had scored four in the eighth off Jonathan Loaisiga and Clay Holmes to take an 8-4 lead.
Bryan Reynolds hit a tying homer in the seventh off Lou Trivino, then gave the Pirates a 5-4 edge with an eighth-inning single off Loaisiga. Rodolfo Castro followed with a three-run homer off Holmes that put Pittsburgh ahead 8-4, but Aroldis Chapman (3-3) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to set it up for New York’s 15th walk-off win.
In other games, it was the Braves 3, Nationals 2; Mets 7, Brewers 5; Guardians 10, White Sox 7 (11 innings); Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 5 (Game 1); Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 2 (Game 2); Red Sox 5, Reds 3; Padres 5, Cardinals 0; Cubs 2, Marlins 1; Astros 5, Rays 0; A’s 4, Mariners 1; Blue Jays 18, Phillies 11; Royals 5, Twins 4; Tigers 3, Orioles 2; Angels 5, Rangers 2; and Giants 6, Rockies 3.
Braves 3, Nationals 2
Travis d’Arnaud and Dansby Swanson hit home runs and Charlie Morton pitched 5 1/3 strong innings to lift Atlanta over visiting Washington.
Atlanta clinched a playoff spot later Tuesday when the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers. The Braves have won 10 straight games at home, the longest streak since they set the modern-era club record of 13 straight in 2019.
Morton (9-6) yielded one run on three hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. Kenley Jansen allowed an unearned run in the ninth but still logged his 36th save.
Mets 7, Brewers 5
Francisco Lindor’s seventh-inning grand slam completed a comeback from a four-run deficit as visiting New York beat Milwaukee.
Pete Alonso’s three-run homer in the sixth started the comeback from a 4-0 hole by the Mets, who won their sixth straight game to remain one game behind the Braves in the National League East.
Willy Adames went 4-for-5 and knocked in two runs for the Brewers, who remained 2 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the race for the third and final NL wild-card spot.
