YANKEES WIN 2 OUT OF 3 AGAINST RANGERS
- April Claudio, Contributor
Saturday The New York Yankees had a double header against the Texas Rangers.
Game 1: Carlos Rodon and the Yankees bullpen shut out the Rangers. Rodon pitched 5 2/3 innings with no runs, only 3 hits and 6 strikeouts. Nathan Eovaldi, pitching for the Rangers, only pitched 3 innings and gave up 3 runs. The Yankees hit a few singles in the first inning and scored a run on a single by Gleyber Torres. In the third inning Juan Soto walked and Aaron Judge hit a single. Both scored on a double by Austin Wells. Brock Burke took over for the Rangers in the fourth inning and gave up 3 more runs. Trent Grisham scored on a double by Judge and Alex Verdugo and Judge scored on a single by Wells. They loaded the bases in the fifth inning and added one more run when Soto grounded out to a fielder’s choice. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his second home run in the Bronx in the eighth inning making the final score 8-0 and Carlos Rodon earned his 13th win.
Winning this game put the Yankees tied with the Orioles for first place in the American League East.
Game 2: With Gerrit Cole and Cody Bradford on the mound the game was tied 1-1 until the sixth inning. Cole pitched to one batter in the sixth inning and was replaced by Luke Weaver. Weaver struggled and loaded the bases. The Rangers scored 2 runs on a walk and sacrifice fly and then scored 3 more runs on a home run by Cory Seager. They scored 3 more runs in the seventh inning off Michael Tonkin as he loaded the bases on 2 outs. The Yankees scored 3 runs in the eighth inning as Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit home runs but it wasn’t enough. The Rangers won this one, 9-4. Cole pitched great, giving up only 1 run and striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings. His best outing since returning from the injured list. Rookie Cody Bradford also pitched well, giving up 1 run and striking out 7 over 5 innings.
Sunday, was a battle of the bats with Marcus Stroman pitching against Andrew Heaney. Heaney gave up 4 runs, 3 earned, in 4 2/3 innings. Stroman pitched well giving up 1 run on 4 hits in 5 innings. Each team used 4 relief pitchers throughout the rest of the game. The Yankees went up 1-0 early as Alex Verdugo scored on a sacrifice fly. Juan Soto homered in the third inning and Giancarlo Stanton homered in the fifth inning putting the Yankees up 5-0. The Rangers scored 1 run in the sixth, Cory Seager hit a RBI double but the Yankees also added 1 more run on a sacrifice fly by DJ LeMahieu. The Rangers scored 2 more runs in the seventh inning off some fielding errors. Also in the seventh inning Soto and Aaron Judge hit back to back home runs. In the eighth inning Nathanial Lowe and Carson Kelly hit home runs giving the rangers 3 more runs putting them down by 2. Clay Holmes struggled in the ninth; with 2 outs he walked 2 and gave up a single, which allowed a run to score. Final score was 8-7, the Yankees won.
The Yankees moved back into a tie with the Orioles for first place in the AL East as they head into a 3 game series on Monday against the Chicago White Sox.