ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a three-run shot in the fourth inning for his 51st homer of the season, and the New York Yankees snapped their three-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
Judge connected for the second straight night at Angel Stadium, driving a high fastball from Mike Mayers (1-1) into the elevated right-field stands. An Orange County crowd packed with Yankees fans gave another raucous standing ovation to the California-born slugger attempting to chase down Roger Maris’ AL home run record of 61 set in 1961.
He's right on pace: Judge and Maris both had 51 homers through the Yankees' first 130 games.
Judge had three hits and scored two runs. Andrew Benintendi and Anthony Rizzo hit early solo homers for New York, which lost starter Jameson Taillon to a bruised right forearm when he was hit by Magneuris Sierra's line drive to end the second inning
Six Yankees relievers finished, and 27-year-old rookie Greg Weissert (1-0) earned his first major league win. The Long Island-born Fordham product replaced Taillon and retired the Angels’ next six hitters in order.
Max Stassi and Mike Ford homered for the Angels, whose four-game winning streak ended despite Touki Toussaint's five innings of one-hit relief.
Shohei Ohtani doubled and singled in his third consecutive multi-hit game for Los Angeles, which hasn't won five straight since April.
Mayers struggled in the converted reliever's fifth career start, giving up eight hits and five earned runs in four innings.
Benintendi homered in the first inning and Rizzo followed in the second, both left-handed batters connecting to right field.
Stassi ended his 1-for-40 slump in the second with his eighth homer, his first since Aug. 5.
But the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs in the third and scored two runs when Ford couldn't field a bouncing throw from Luis Rengifo at first.
TAILLON TAGGED
Taillon was in pain as he left the mound after getting hit by Sierra's line drive, which resulted in the final out of the inning when second baseman DJ LeMahieu fielded the ricochet. Taillon yielded two hits and two runs in his abbreviated start, striking out two.
X-rays on Taillon's forearm showed no fractures, the team announced.
USED FORD
Continuing his hot start with the Angels, Ford homered for the second straight night against the organization that employed him from 2012 until last season, when he was traded to Tampa Bay. Ford belonged to a whopping seven different teams in the ensuing 14 months, but he hadn’t hit any homers since the Yankees traded him until these two shots for the Halos.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: OF Harrison Bader is hitting off a tee and running. He could begin playing in games next week. The trade-deadline acquisition has yet to play for New York due to a foot injury that has sidelined him since June. ... Two starting pitchers are making progress. Luis Severino (back) will begin a rehab assignment later this week, while Nestor Cortes (groin) will throw a bullpen Wednesday in Anaheim.
Angels: RHP Michael Lorenzen will make one last rehab start before he returns, interim manager Phil Nevin said. Lorenzen has been out since early July with discomfort in his pitching shoulder.
UP NEXT
The series concludes with two Orange County natives on the mound. Newport Beach's Gerrit Cole (10-6, 3.31 ERA) returns to his boyhood stadium to face Mission Viejo's Patrick Sandoval (4-9, 3.05), who will make his first career appearance against the Yankees after back-to-back excellent starts on the road.
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