Aaron Judge’s bomb puts Yankees over Mets | Rapid reaction

Aaron Judge’s eighth-inning homer and a solid start from Domingo German gave the Yankees a 6-3 win over the Mets at Citi Field on Saturday.

NEW YORK — If anything was more predictable than Justify’s Triple Crown win, this was it.

When Anthony Swarzak tossed slow, hanging slider to Aaron Judge with his first pitch of the night in the eighth inning, he might as well have told him what was coming, while was as it.

Judge wound up and blasted it high into the air and over the left-field wall. The blast gave the Yankees the lead for good in a 4-3 victory over the Mets at Citi Field on Saturday night.

It also awarded the Yankees the first round of the Subway Series, following Friday night’s win.

What it means

The Yankees won their fourth straight game and their ninth in their last 10 to improve to 42-18.

They stayed a half-game ahead of the Red Sox in the American League East. Boston beat the White Sox in the afternoon.

The Yankees are now 11-3 in one-run games. Last year, they were 18-26 in them.

The Mets have lost eight straight.

How it happened

Helped that Domingo German, after a rough start, matched Mets lefty Steven Matz. Both pitchers went six innings and gave up six runs.

The bullpens proved to be the major difference.

After German came out, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman combined to hold the Mets scoreless over the final three innings. Chapman notched his 17th save in 18 tries. He’s battling with right knee tendinitis. Chapman walked a pair but got pinch-hitter Jose Reyes to fly out to right to finish the game.

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Miguel Andujar brought the Yankees back into the game with a powerful swing in the sixth inning.

After Matz walked Gary Sanchez, Andujar crushed a two-run homer to left field, demolishing a 0-1 curveball that was down the middle of the plate and chest high.

It was Andujar’s eighth home run of the season (and of his career). Four of them have either tied the game or put the Yankees ahead, according to researcher Katie Sharp. Andujar, 

Andujar now 10-for-24 on the Yankees’ road trip trip with three HR, four doubles and 10 RBI. Judge finished 1-for-4. 

Gleyber Torres put the Yankees on the board with a solo blast to left field in the third inning, his 11th of the year. Torres also walked in the ninth.

By exiting with the game tied at 3-all after six innings, German moved to winless in his first six career starts, the longest streak by a Yankee to start a career since Brian Boehringer from June 1995 to June 1996.

He finished having struck out nine, tying his career high, while walking none and surrendering five hits, including two home runs, a wild pitch and a hit batter.

German’s troubles started early before he settled down.

Ex-Yankee Todd Frazier, a Toms River native and Rutgers graduate, hit a solo shot to left field in the Mets’ second at-bat of the game.

After Brandon Nimmo immediately followed with a triple, Asdrubal Cabrera rocked a two-run blast to right-center field. That made it 3-zip Mets after just 17 German pitches.

German worked out of trouble with a runner in scoring position in the third and fourth innings. In the fourth, Kevin Plawecki doubled with two outs but German struck out Matz to end it.

The Yankees had a chance to separate themselves in the fifth but squandered it.

Aaron Judge came to the plate with the bases loaded. He grounded out for the third consecutive at-bat, killing the threat. The Yankees got there with a leadoff single from Didi Gregorius and a four-pitch walk to German and a full-count, two-out walk to Hicks.

Two Yankees got picked off. Aaron Hicks doubled in the first inning and then got picked off at second base to end the inning. Torres got picked off first base for the second out in the ninth.

NEXT

Sunday: Yankees at Mets, 8:05 p.m., ESPN. RHP Luis Severino (9-1, 2.20) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (1-1, 2.04).

Monday: Off

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.