NEW YORK (AP) – Giancarlo Stanton lined a laser beam of a home run, Aaron Judge added a three-run shot and the New York Yankees powered past the Texas Rangers 7-1 on Tuesday night to keep pace in the crowded AL wild-card chase.
Joey Gallo also went deep – against his former team – and a finally healthy Luis Severino closed with two shutout innings in his first major league appearance since the 2019 AL Championship Series. New York, which remained a half-game behind Toronto for the final American League playoff spot, has taken two straight from last-place Texas following a 7-15 stretch.
Jordan Montgomery (6-6) struck out six in 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, giving up one or less for the eighth time in his last 10 starts. Anthony Rizzo had an RBI single and scored both times after he was hit by a pitch.
Stanton drove in a run with a broken-bat groundout in the first and then ripped a solo homer inside the left field foul pole off starter Dane Dunning (5-9) in the third.
The ball left Stanton’s bat at 118.5 mph, the third-hardest-hit home run in the majors this season.
Gallo, traded by Texas to the Yankees in July, lofted a high drive into the second deck in right to make it 4-1 in the sixth. Judge, who doubled earlier, sent an opposite-field drive to right-center against Kolby Allard in the mist for his 36th homer in the seventh.
Yankees reliever Michael King retired cleanup batter Adolis Garcia with a runner on second to keep it 3-1 in the sixth and then struck out all three batters in the seventh looking.
Severino, reinstated from the injured list Monday, entered to a warm hand in the eighth from fans who also chanted his name. He gave up two hits and struck out two, flashing a mid-90s mph fastball and a sharp slider.
A two-time All-Star, the 27-year-old right-hander had Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27, 2020, and was slowed throughout his rehab progression in the minors this season by a groin injury and shoulder tightness.
