CINCINNATI — Aaron Judge hit his seventh home run in as many games, and the New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 on Friday night.
Anthony Rizzo also did the job for the rebounding Yankees, who improved to 9–3 in their last 12 games.
Judge, who received standing ovation from several Yankee fans at the park after his batting practice before the game, wasted little time in making an appearance for New York’s first game in Cincinnati since 2017.
The reigning AL MVP found the first pitch thrown by starter Ben Lively (1-2) and drove the ball 431 feet from home plate to center field for his 13th home run on the season.
It was the judge’s only hit of the night. However, he has appeared in five of the last seven games, including two in a pair of games during this streak.
With New York still leading 1–0 at the end of the fifth inning, starter Clark Schmidt (2–4) was checked by all four umpires after a foreign substance was detected on his clothing. He was allowed to remain on the mound after apparently cleaning his gloved hand.
But Reds manager David Bell was ousted after he protested Schmidt’s retention.
Domingo Germán, another Yankees pitcher, was suspended for 10 games on Wednesday for violating a ban on adhesive substances on the mound.
For the Yankees, it was 3–0 with a run by Gleyber Torres of Venezuela, 3–1 with a run by Osvaldo Cabrera.
Puerto Rican Henry Ramos 2-0, for the Reds. Cuba Jose Barreiro 3-0.
