Judge HRs twice, throws out runner, Yanks beat Guardians 4-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Boone liked what he saw from Aaron Judge on Friday night, even before the first pitch.

“Judgy kind of had that look in his eye tonight," the New York Yankees manager said. “Sometimes he tells me he’s got us, but he kind of gave me that look right before the game, like: `I got this.'”

Judge hit a pair of opposite-field home runs and threw out a runner from center field, leading New York over Cleveland 4-1 in the first trip to the Bronx by the renamed Guardians. Reliever Michael King helped keep New York ahead by striking out eight in three innings, fanning his last seven batters.

Judge put the Yankees in front against Eli Morgan (1-1) when he followed a two-out walk to DJ LeMahieu in the third with a drive into the right-field seats, over the new video board that replaced a hand-operated scoreboard. Judge added a solo shot into the short porch in the fifth off Tanner Tully, a 27-year-old left-hander who made his major league debut.

Judge entered with just one home run this season after cutting off talks on opening day for a long-term contract. It was the 17th two-homer game for Judge, who can become a free agent after the World Series.

New York led 3-1 when Andrés Giménez reached on a slow bouncer starting the fifth. He tried for third on Steven Kwan’s single to center but hesitated after rounding second. Judge threw a 90.6 mph strike to third baseman Josh Donaldson, who applied the tag.

“JD put a good tag. I left it a little high for him," Judge said. “The ball kind of checked up on me a little bit. I know they were just playing soccer here, so aybe that had something to do with it."

Isiah Kiner-Falefa added an RBI single in the fourth.

Jameson Taillon (1-1) allowed one run and seven hits in five innings, giving up Franmil Reyes’ home run in the...

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