I was ecstatic on deck and I was like, ‘I’ve just got to make contact now.’ What a day.
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The Rays took a 1-0 lead with one out in the first when Longoria lined a double to right field and went ahead 2-0 when Forsythe drove a full count fastball into the right-center field seats for his 14th home run.
Although Severino struggled early in the year, the Yankees ensured he spent time in the minors working on his weakest pitches.
And the Baby Bombers did it back-to-back in a five-pitch span against Tampa Bay.
“That thing was a hit a ton”, an awe-struck Austin said Saturday after an 8-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Alex Rodriguez’s time as a Yankee – and possibly as a Major League baseball player, even though rumors about a possible move to the Miami Marlins continue to persist – is officially over, and NY is going full steam ahead with their rebuilding process now.
The Rays have lost eight of 12 games since sweeping the Yankees two weekends ago in Tampa Bay.
“I think we’re all excited because we know these two as people”, Hall of Famer and former Yankees great Reggie Jackson said.
Judge-Austin seemed to be the Bleacher Creatures’ new favorites, not some jurisprudence reference. He had entered 2 for 15 against Tanaka (9-4). It doesn’t end at just Judge and Austin. Judge, a 6-foot-7 slugger who general manager Brian Cashman said will become the team’s everyday right fielder, was ranked the No. 23 overall prospect in Keith Law’s midseason rankings.
“You can’t draw it up any better when you’re talking about two young players”, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the win. “Tyler Austin’s probably 225, 230 pounds, and he looks small next to Aaron Judge“.
Rookies Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez each homered for the Yankees (60-57), who had a four-game winning streak stopped and were unable to go a season-high five games over.500. Both players were making their major league debut’s and became the first players ever to hit back-to-back homers in their first MLB at-bats. Yankees LF Brett Gardner did not play Saturday after getting hit by a pitch above the right ankle Friday and is expected to miss a few games.3. That was a solo shot to trim New York’s lead to 6-4. Even more importantly the Yankees won hanging 8 runs on the Rays, while starting 6 players under 26 years old. According to ESPN’s home run tracking data, Judge’s towering homer traveled 457 feet with an exit velocity of 109 miles per hour.
A new era has officially arrived in the Bronx.
It was clear this afternoon that Judge and Austin like one another. When his flight was canceled, the Yankees sent a auto service to take him on the 5-hour drive.
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When Tyler Austin stepped to the plate for the first time, Aaron Judge was right behind him with familiar words of encouragement. Judge said his message total also was in the triple digits, one of them from the family in Alaska that hosted him during summer ball five years ago. He has also displayed his versatility available to the Yankees in shifting from first base to left field late in the game on Sunday.
