Gerrit Cole got out to a rough start, but the Yankees hit five home runs, including two from Aaron Judge in their 7-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon.
Here are some key takeaways …
- Cole struck out Pirates SS Cole Tucker to begin the game, got Bryan Reynolds out looking, and then forced Hoy Park to fly out to center for a 1-2-3 first inning. Josh Donaldson gave Cole some early run insurance, launching a leadoff homer to left field as the Yanks took a 1-0 lead.
- Cole walked Roberto Perez to open the second, and after a strikeout, he let up a home run to Diego Castillo as the Pirates took a 2-1 lead. In the top of the third, Cole allowed a leadoff home run to Tucker, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead. Reynolds reached first on a throwing error by Marwin Gonzalez, and moved to third on Park's single.
Cole was then replaced by Barrett Loseke, ending his day after just 50 pitches over 2.0+ IP. Loseke let up a RBI single to Perez, making it 4-1 Pirates. Cole allowed three earned runs on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
- Kyle Higashioka led off the third with a solo home run, as the Yanks trailed 4-2. Judge then made it a one run game with a monster home run to dead center field.
- Aaron Hicks singled with one out in the fourth inning, and scored on Gonzalez's two-run homer down the right field line that just stayed fair to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead. Donaldson walked to leadoff the bottom of the fifth, and scored on Judge's second homer of the day, giving the Yankees a 7-4 lead.
- Judge finished the day 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI, while Donaldson and Higashioka both went 1-for-2 with a walk and a HR.
