REPORT: New York Yankees employ another power surge to avoid sweep vs. Diamondbacks
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On the final night of their opening homestand, the Yankees teed off on Arizona.
And it’s a good thing they did, because a shaky Yankee bullpen nearly cost them again.
including another by Aaron Judge — were enough to hold off the Diamondbacks, as the Yankees avoided a sweep in The Bronx with a 9-7 win on Thursday night.
Judge’s three-run homer just three batters into the bottom of the first set the tone against right-hander Merrill Kelly.
Trent Grisham called it a “character win” to prevent getting swept and Judge agreed, acknowledging the team may have gotten caught up in the torpedo bat craze.
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Jasson Domínguez(C.), Trent Grisham (R.) and Ben Rice (L.) celebrate during the Yankees-Pirates game on April 4, 2025.
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“Especially after coming out, scoring all the runs and people talking about bats, [there were] just a lot of distractions,’’ Judge said. “We’ve got to go out and keep playing.”
No one has done that better than Judge, who had three more hits.
“He’s Aaron Judge,’’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “Guys keep getting on for him and he keeps on performing and showing why he’s the MVP of the league and one of the best players ever to play the game.”
The Yankees scored nine runs off Kelly in just 3 ²/₃ innings en route to a six-run lead — which seemed safe until Ryan Yarbrough nearly set a torch to it when he entered in the seventh and loaded the bases with no one out before Geraldo Perdomo hit a grand slam to cut the lead to two runs.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (13) is greeted by Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) after he scores on his two-run homer during the fourth inning
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. is greeted by Aaron Judge after he belted a two-run homer during the fourth inning of the Yankees’ 9-7 win over the Diamondbacks on April 3, 2025.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post
The lefty managed to retire the next two batters before Mark Leiter Jr. finished the inning, as the pen recovered behind Leiter and Luke Weaver’s scoreless 2 ¹/₃ innings, with closer Devin Williams on the paternity list.
The Yankees’ fast start held up, which began when Ben Rice opened the bottom of the first with a booming ground rule double to center.
Cody Bellinger followed with a walk and Judge hit a 112-mph rocket out to right-center to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
It was Judge’s fifth homer of the young season, and he became the third-fasted player in franchise history to get to 500 career extra-base hits, behind only Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. flips his bat after a homer during the Yankees’ win over the Diamondbacks.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“Last year, he hit 58 home runs and had a bad first month,” Chisholm said. “Imagine right now what he’s about to do.”
With two outs in the first, Grisham sent a double to the gap in left-center that just eluded left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to score Jasson Domínguez from first.
