Gleyber Torres,Aaron Judge
AP Photo/Kathy Willens

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has a knack for coming up in a big spot and Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays was no exception.

The New York Yankees were in danger of dropping another nail-biter to the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. However, Aaron Judge had other plans.

Judge, as he does so often, was able to work the pitcher to a full count. One pitch before his home run, he drilled a ball to the right-field corner, but it landed a few feet foul.

The behemoth outfielder wasn’t going to come up short in a big spot for the second straight night. In the seventh inning of a tie game on Monday, Judge struck out with two runners on to end the inning and kill the rally.

His go-ahead homer on Tuesday came with two outs, but that Yankees were far from finished with the Rays. A Luke Voit single, Gary Sanchez double, and Edwin Encarnacion intentional walk brought Didi Gregorius to the plate with bases load.

Didi was due for a big hit.

The game was all but over at that point. The six-run eighth inning was enough for the Yankees to even the four-game series at a game apiece.

CC Sabathia always has an edge when he faces the Rays and Tuesday was no different. Following his sixth and final strikeout of the night, he and Avisail Garcia exchanged words as the Yankees ran off the field.

Sabathia posted a quality start with six innings and three earned runs. The grizzled veteran did enough to keep the Yankees in the game and give them a chance. David Hale was another unsung hero of the night, cleaning up a bases-loaded jam left by Nestor Cortes Jr. in the seventh inning.

The Yankees bats took a little while to awaken this series, but it appears as they have finally figured out these Rays pitchers.


NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.