Rizzo hits 300th HR in Yankees victory over Brewers

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Aaron Judge homered in the first inning and played a central role as a baserunner during a seven-run rally in the sixth as the New York Yankees defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 15-5 on Sunday.

Anthony Rizzo went 4 for 4 and hit his 300th career homer. Anthony Volpe added a three-run shot on his 23rd birthday. Judge went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, including a 441-foot solo shot.

New York also beat Milwaukee 15-3 on Saturday, marking the first time since 2007 that the Yankees scored at least 15 runs in back-to-back games.

New York grabbed a one-game lead in the AL East over the Baltimore Orioles, who lost 7-6 to Oakland. The Yankees begin a four-game series at Baltimore on Monday.

“We're excited,” Judge said. “We've been watching them from afar. They're a great team. They've got a young, great team, did a lot of great things last year, especially winning the division. We're excited to get out there and have some fun.”

Milwaukee's Jake Bauers, who played for the Yankees last season, went 3 for 5 with a three-run homer against his former team. The 28-year-old first baseman also pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The game was tied at 4 before the Yankees’ sixth-inning outburst. All seven of their runs scored with two outs after the Brewers failed to turn a double play earlier in the inning because shortstop Willy Adames’ attempted throw to first hit Judge’s padded left hand.

Judge was on first after drawing a leadoff walk when Alex Verdugo hit a bouncer to second baseman Brice Turang, whose throw to Adames retired Judge at second. Judge raised his left arm as he slid into second, and Adames’ throw bounced off the 6-foot-7 slugger’s hand before hitting the ground.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy argued that Judge should have been called for interference, which would have left the Yankees with two out and nobody on base. The umpiring crew disagreed, enabling Verdugo to stay at first with one out.

“On the field, we got together and did the best that we could to come up with the correct answer,” crew chief Andy Fletcher told a pool reporter after the game. “After looking at it off the field in replay, it appears that the call was missed. It should’ve been called interference because it wasn’t a natural part of his slide. It didn’t appear that way to us.”

Judge said he merely slid into second the same way he has for years.

“You can look back at any picture you want of me sliding into second base," Judge said. “That's always happened.”

Verdugo scored the go-ahead run on Gleyber Torres’ single off Abner Uribe (2-2). The Yankees would score six more runs during a rally that culminated with a two-run single from Judge, who was booed by the American Family Field crowd.

“That changed the whole game,” Adames said of the botched double play and missed call.

New York’s seven-run outburst came after the Brewers erased a 4-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the fifth off Marcus Stroman.

Ron Marinaccio (1-0) earned the win after allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings.

TRAINERS' ROOM

Yankees: Manager Aaron Boone said “everything went really well” in RHP Gerrit Cole’s throwing session Saturday as the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner returns from an elbow injury. Boone called it a “fairly intense day from a flat ground standpoint."

Brewers: Murphy said OF Christian Yelich's recovery from a lower back strain has “stalled a little bit." Murphy added that he doesn't think it's a long-term situation. “I think within a week we'll be in a better spot,” Murphy said. Yelich last played in a game on April 12.

YANKS SEND MOORE TO MINORS

The Yankees sent right-hander McKinley Moore outright to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-0, 3.55 ERA) starts for the Yankees and RHP Grayson Rodriguez (3-1, 4.45 ERA) pitches for the Orioles on Monday.

Brewers: Open a three-game home series with Tampa Bay on Monday. RHP Bryse Wilson (2-0, 3.50 ERA) starts for the Brewers. RHP Ryan Pepiot (2-2, 3.77 ERA) pitches for the Rays.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb