CINCINNATI – Aaron Judge hit his seventh home run in as many games as the New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 on Friday night.
Anthony Rizzo also homered for the rebounding Yankees, who improved to 9-3 in their last 12 games.
Judge wasted little time making his presence felt in New York’s first game in Cincinnati since 2017, receiving a standing ovation from several Yankees fans at the park after his batting practice.
The reigning AL MVP found the first pitch thrown at him by starter Ben Lively (1-2) and sent the ball 431 feet from home plate to center field for his 13th home run of the season.
It was an overnight hit with the judge. However, he has homered in five of the last seven games, including two in a pair of games during this streak.
With New York still leading 1-0, starter Clark Schmidt (2-4) was frisked by all four umpires in the fifth inning after a foreign object was found on his clothing. He was allowed to continue on the mound after he cleaned his glove hand.
But Reds manager David Bell was sacked over Schmidt’s retention.
Another Yankees pitcher, Domingo German, was suspended 10 games Wednesday for violating a ban on sticky materials on the mound.
For the Yankees, Venezuela’s Clayber Torres had a 3-0 home run and Osvaldo Cabrera had a 3-1 home run.
For the Reds, Puerto Rican Henry Ramos 2-0. Cuban Jose Barreiro 3-0.
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