Bronx, NY — The New York Yankees avoided a sweep and overcame the absence of Aaron Judge on Thursday, using timely hitting and a dominant pitching performance to edge the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 in the finale of their three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Ryan McMahon delivered the decisive blow with a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, while Carlos Rodón and three relievers combined to hold Cleveland to just two hits as New York secured its seventh victory in the last 10 games.
The win came on a day when the Yankees received troubling news regarding their captain and reigning American League MVP. Judge missed his third straight game due to pain stemming from a rib injury, and the club later announced that further testing revealed a stress fracture in the first rib on his right side. The Yankees said Judge will be shut down from baseball activities and re-evaluated in four to six weeks, though the organization remains hopeful he will return later this season.
Despite being without their biggest offensive threat, the Yankees found enough production to pull out the victory.
Cleveland struck first in the fourth inning when Stuart Fairchild lined an RBI single to give the Guardians a 1-0 advantage. New York answered later in the inning when Jazz Chisholm Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home the tying run.
The game remained deadlocked until the seventh. Chisholm worked a one-out walk, then aggressively moved into scoring position by stealing second base and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Moments later, McMahon lined a single to bring him home, giving the Yankees their first lead of the afternoon.
Rodón turned in another strong outing, allowing just one run on two hits over six innings. The left-hander struck out seven and worked around three walks before turning the game over to the bullpen.
Brett Headrick earned the victory after a scoreless seventh inning, Fernando Cruz tossed a perfect eighth, and David Bednar retired all three batters he faced in the ninth to record his 13th save of the season.
With Judge sidelined, Max Schuemann made his first career start in right field and impressed defensively. He made a diving catch on a sinking liner by Steven Kwan in the second inning and later robbed Brayan Rocchio with a leaping grab near the wall in the seventh.
Guardians starter Slade Cecconi matched Rodón for much of the afternoon, surrendering only one run on four hits across six innings before Cleveland’s bullpen allowed the deciding run.
The Yankees now turn their attention to a highly anticipated weekend series against the Boston Red Sox, while Cleveland heads to Texas for the start of a three-game set against the Rangers.
