Big frame boosts Yanks, Montgomery over Jays

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge hit a towering homer and the Yankees sent 12 men to the plate in their biggest inning of the season, supporting Jordan Montgomery's solid outing in a 9-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Judge cracked a two-run blast as part of a three-RBI performance and Miguel Andujar ripped a three-run double that highlighted a seven-run sixth inning, helping the Yankees topple Toronto starter Marcus Stroman en route to their fourth win in six games.

"It's a lot of fun," Judge said. "That's what it's about, consistent team at-bats. Everyone just kept the line moving. That's the biggest thing, when you've got the kind of lineup that we do. People are taking their walks when they have to and moving runners over. Little things like that help us get those big innings."
Montgomery was the beneficiary of the run support, rolling to his second straight victory after evading early trouble. Montgomery pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning and limited damage to a run in a high-traffic fifth, completing six frames of one-run, four-hit ball. He walked three and struck out five.

"I was just trying to go out there, execute pitches and let my defense play," Montgomery said. "They did an incredible job behind me. … I've just got to trust my stuff and not try and aim as much, just throw it up there for them to hit them. If they don't, they don't."
Judge improved to 7-for-16 (.438) with four homers off Stroman. The homer was the 62nd of Judge's career in his 201st game, keeping him ahead of Mark McGwire's pace as the quickest player to reach that number. McGwire needed 205 games with the 1986-88 Athletics to reach 62 homers.

Steve Pearce's fifth-inning RBI single off Montgomery trimmed the Yankees' lead to a run, but New York erupted in the sixth as the first five batters reached against Stroman. Didi Gregorius ripped a run-scoring single to right field and Judge slid home safely on a dropped throw error by catcher Luke Maile before Andujar laced his big hit toward the bullpen in left-center field.
"I'm feeling pretty good right now," Andujar said through an interpreter. "I've been watching a lot of video. I'm going out there and making sure that I correct whatever I'm doing wrong. If I see something that I'm doing wrong, I'll have a conversation with the coaches and make an adjustment. As of right now, things are working out good."

Brett Gardner lifted a sacrifice fly and Judge completed the scoring with a run-scoring single to left. Stroman was charged with eight runs (six earned) and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. Toronto has lost all five of Stroman's starts at Yankee Stadium since the beginning of 2016.
"From the side, he looked tough to me all day," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "I think our guys just competed with him. Our at-bats, up and down the order, we didn't give anything away."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It got overshadowed by the noise of the seven-run outburst, but Montgomery's escapes set the tone of the afternoon. Montgomery was staring at a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third after a walk to Pearce. An eight-pitch battle heavy on breaking balls followed with Teoscar Hernández, with Montgomery getting the outfielder to wave at an 80.2-mph curve for strike three. Yangervis Solarte then popped up another curve to end the inning.

Montgomery halted damage in the fifth after Pearce's RBI single, striking out Hernandez on three pitches before getting Solarte to fly out and Kendrys Morales to ground out.
"He's hard to hit," Boone said. "Even when he looks like he's losing his command, he has a knack for making pitches. That changeup, the curveball and when he's mixing in the fastball, I think it's a hard pitch to get a bead on, considering that over-the-top delivery."
SOUND SMART
The Yankees' seven-run sixth inning was their highest-scoring frame since bringing home seven runs in the eighth inning on June 14, 2016, at Colorado. It was their highest-scoring inning at Yankee Stadium since tallying nine in the seventh on Aug. 4, 2015, vs. Boston.
UP NEXT
Luis Severino takes the ball on Sunday as the Yankees and Blue Jays complete their four-game series at 1:05 p.m. ET. Severino defeated the Jays on Opening Day at Rogers Centre, hurling 5 2/3 scoreless innings with one hit and seven strikeouts. Former Yankee Jaime García will start for Toronto.