Yankees RHP Corey Kluber fired six scoreless innings while LF Joey Gallo, RF Aaron Judge, CF Brett Gardner and DH Giancarlo Stanton blasted home runs, starting a three-game series at Yankee Stadium against Cleveland with an 8-0 win.
Five things to know from Friday’s game
1. Facing his former team in Cleveland, where he played from 2011-19 as a three-time MLB All-Star selection and two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, Kluber (5-3, 3.68 ERA) produced his best outing since before he landed June 5 on the 60-day IL with a shoulder issue. Kluber, who threw a no-hitter May 19 at the Texas Rangers, fired a shutout Friday for the Yankees.
Kluber scattered four hits while striking out four and walking two on 95 pitches (61 strikes). He avoided any hints of trouble with three double plays, including a pivotal 5-4-3 sequence turned by 3B DJ LeMahieu, 2B Gleyber Torres and 1B Anthony Rizzo without an out in the sixth inning.
2. Gallo gave Kluber a boost in the second inning, drawing first blood for the Yankees by ripping a solo shot down the right-field line and into the middle deck. Gallo’s 393-foot, 114.2-mph rocket — his 36th home run of the 2021 season — would have been enough on its own, but it had company two frames later when he saw Judge blast one as well.
3. In the fourth inning, Judge — like Gallo — led the Yankees off with a long ball, doubling a 2-0 lead. He deposited the 405-foot, 107.4-mph homer — his 35th of the year — over the right-center field wall and into the Yankees’ bullpen to give Kluber one more run.
4. The Yankees broke the game open in the seventh and eighth innings. After Gallo’s leadoff single and Torres’ walk to put runners at first and second, SS Gio Urshela‘s RBI single tacked on a run and pushed the Yankees ahead 3-0 in the seventh inning.
Cleveland replaced starter Zach Plesac with Nick Wittgren, who surrendered a three-run homer to Gardner — his ninth this season — and the Yankees doubled their advantage to 6-0. Following an eighth-inning change to J.C. Mejia, the Yankees kept mashing, with Gallo (37) and Stanton (29) going back to back and polishing off the 8-0 gap.
5. RHP Michael King and LHP Lucas Luetge relieved Kluber without any drama, combining to fire three perfect innings. Between King’s seventh and eighth and Luetge’s ninth, they struck four out on 31 pitches (21 strikes).
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees (83-65) have a chance to take the Cleveland (71-74) series with Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. game. RHP Luis Gil (1-0, 2.88 ERA) and Aaron Civale (10-4, 3.76 ERA) are the projected pitchers.