After Aaron Judge hit his 41st homer of the season in the first inning on Saturday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided to intentionally walk the New York Yankees slugger with two outs and nobody on base an inning later. “I honestly didn’t feel like seeing him swing,” Schneider explained. “We wanted to be really careful with him, and being too careful can lead to mistakes.” Judge has homered in both games of this series against the Blue Jays. As the American League East rivals conclude their season set on Sunday, the Yankees will start Gerrit Cole (3-2, 5.40 ERA) while the Blue Jays will send rookie Yariel Rodriguez (1-4, 4.31 ERA) to the mound.
The Yankees tied the season series at six games each with an 8-3 win on Saturday, where Judge hit his 16th first-inning homer of the season, matching a club record set by Babe Ruth in 1927. “It’s on us to take advantage,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Judge has reached base multiple times for the 70th time this season, with six homers in his last eight games and nine in his last 17, batting .421 (24-for-57) in that span. His season stats include a .321 average and 103 RBIs. “That’s a pretty good season for a lot of people, but for him, he’s halfway through,” said New York pitcher Carlos Rodon.
While Judge is on a hot streak, so is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays’ first baseman went 3-for-4 with his 22nd homer on Sunday, hitting .525 (31-for-59) with nine homers and 18 RBIs during a 16-game hitting streak, raising his average to .318. “It’s fun to watch him right now,” Schneider said. Guerrero’s big day came in a game where the Blue Jays trailed by five, made two errors, and loaded the bases in the ninth before George Springer struck out. Springer, the designated hitter after fouling a ball off his left shin on Friday, might return to the outfield on Sunday.
Cole, against whom Guerrero is hitting .344 (11-for-32), returns after being scratched from Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia due to general fatigue. His last start was a rough outing against the New York Mets on July 24, where he allowed six runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. However, Cole has a strong track record against the Blue Jays, with a 9-2 record and a 2.73 ERA in 17 career starts, holding them to one run on three hits over five innings on June 30. Rodriguez, making his 11th career start, hopes to rebound after a rough outing against the Orioles. Prior to that, he was 1-1 with a 2.01 ERA in his previous four games, allowing opponents to bat just .214. This will be his first time facing the Yankees.