NEW YORK – After their bats had done a lot of damage, the Yankees decided to mound their new gun in the bullpen. It was actually an old acquaintance: Luis Severino.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run line, Aaron Judge added a three-run club and New York defeated the Texas Rangers 7-1 on Tuesday night to continue the crowded AL wild-card fight.
Joey Gallo also hit a home run against his previous team, while Severino – finally healthy – closed the game with two scoreless innings. It was the Dominican’s first performance in the majors since the 2019 American League Championship Series.
“It was something special for me,” Severino commented. “This whole time has been a bit frustrating.”
New York, which followed a half game behind Toronto in the dispute for the final wild-card spot in the Young Circuit playoffs, has won two in a row at bottom Texas, after a stretch of the season with a 7-15 record.
Jordan Montgomery (6-6) struck out six in 5 2/3 innings with a one-run ball. For the eighth time in his last 10 starts, he allowed one touchdown or less.
Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI single and scored both times he was hit by balls.
Stanton drove in a run on a broken bat ground that was retired during the first inning. In the third, he hit the solo home run off Dane Dunning (5-9).
The ball flew off the tree at 118.5 mph – the third-strongest home run of the season in the majors.
For the Rangers, Leody Taveras 4-1. The Cubans Andy Ibáñez 4-3, Adolis García 4-1. The Venezuelan Yonny Hernández 3-0.
For the Yankees, the Venezuelan Gleyber Torres 3-1. The Dominican Gary Sánchez 4-0. Colombian Gio Urshela 3-1 with a run scored.
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