 in the first while getting thrown out on a headfirst slide into third base.The slugger just returned last Tuesday from a string of injuries to his biceps, shoulder and calf.Nonetheless, the Yankees wasted no time rewriting the record book on this night.LeMahieu hit his fourth career leadoff shot into the second deck down the left field line, breaking a mark New York shared for one day with the 2002 Texas Rangers, who also homered in 27 consecutive games.The Yankees quickly added another one, too. Judge followed LeMahieu with an opposite-field drive into the right field stands. It was the first home run since April 20 for Judge, who returned Friday from an oblique injury that sidelined him for two months.It was the second time this season and 11th in franchise history the Yankees started a game with consecutive home runs.Bronx Bombers, indeed.Rookie left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. (3-0) pitched 4 1/3 solid innings in relief of opener Chad Green. They combined to retire the first 12 Blue Jays batters before Cavan Biggio doubled leading off the fifth.Danny Jansen's double in the sixth set up Eric Sogard's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that chased Cortes and cut it to 3-2. Tommy Kahnle escaped trouble with two strikeouts and Stephen Tarpley, recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day, tossed a perfect seventh.Zack Britton worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Chapman got three outs. Randal Grichuk's run-scoring single with two outs trimmed it to 4-3.New York improved to 7-0 when starting an opener.Torres went deep in the second and Encarnacion hit his AL-high 24th homer - third with the Yankees - off reliever Tim Mayza in the eighth.Tagged right off the bat, Richard settled down and lasted six innings. The former backup quarterback at Michigan, pitching on a night when his alma mater was playing for the NCAA baseball championship in the College World Series, allowed three runs and eight hits.LONDON BRIDGEWhen the Yankees play the rival Red Sox in London this weekend, fans on the other side of the pond will get a firsthand look at new-age baseball: New York plans to start an opener again in the series finale Sunday.TRAINER'S ROOMBlue Jays: CF Teoscar Hernandez returned to the lineup after missing two starts with a sprained left wrist. ... 1B-DH Justin Smoak (strained left quadriceps) is expected back Friday at home against Kansas City.Yankees: SS Didi Gregorius was rested against the lefty. ... DH-1B Kendrys Morales was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and designated for assignment.UP NEXTBlue Jays RHP Trent Thornton (2-5, 4.25 ERA) starts the series finale Wednesday afternoon against LHP James Paxton (5-3, 3.75), who pitched a no-hitter in Toronto for Seattle last year.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Yankees go for homer record vs. Blue JaysFLMFor nearly a month, the New York Yankees have hit homers on a daily basis. Entering Monday, Giancarlo Stanton was not among the 12 Yankees to clear the fence in that stretch.Now Stanton has his homer, and the Yankees are on the verge of setting a major league record.Stanton hit his first home run of the season on Monday as the Yankees tied the major league record for consecutive games with a home run at 27. They will try to break the record Tuesday night when they host the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.The Yankees tied the mark set by the Texas Rangers from Aug. 11-Sept. 9, 2002."That ties it? OK, cool," Stanton told reporters after Monday's game. "We need one more then." Stanton missed the first 20 games of the streak before being activated on June 18. He finally hit his first homer to cap a seven-run sixth Monday in New York's 10-8 victory in the series opener against the Blue Jays, an inning after Aaron Hicks hit the record-tying, three-run homer."We're aware of it because it's kind of what we do," Hicks said. "We hit home runs here. That's how we score our runs." The latest set of homers gave the Yankees 128 on the season and in their ninth win in 10 games. They also hit multiple homers for the seventh time in eight games. New York is 31-3 when hitting more than one homer.The Yankees will use an opener Tuesday, but they had named who that would be as of late Monday night. One player it will not be is Chad Green, who pitched in the eighth inning Monday. Tuesday's opener is expected to be Nestor Cortes Jr. or David Hale.Clayton Richard (0-3, 7.46 ERA) attempts to get his first win as a Blue Jay when he starts Tuesday. Richard has yet to pitch beyond five innings this season. He last pitched Thursday when he took a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing four runs in five-plus innings on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.Richard is 0-11 with a 5.62 ERA in his last 17 starts since June 27.The veteran left-hander is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees.Toronto, meanwhile, joined the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles as baseball's third 50-loss team and is attempting to rebound from its eighth loss in the last 11 visits to New York. The Blue Jays are hoping to continue some positive momentum after making things interesting in the late innings.The Blue Jays recorded 14 hits Monday, marking their fifth straight game with double-digit hits. They also hit two homers, giving them 21 in their past nine games.Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who homered to spark a five-run eighth inning, has four homers in his last nine games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits in his Yankee Stadium debut and Freddy Galvis hit a grand slam, raising his average to .360 (9-for-25) in his past six games."We don't quit," Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. "We made them use their setup man, their closer. So outstanding. I love this team. We didn't quit. It was another example of that today." --Field Level Media
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