Judge visits short porch with shortest career HR as supporting cast steps up

NEW YORK – Aaron Judge didn’t become one of the game’s most feared sluggers by launching front-row wall-scrapers. While the Yankees captain doesn’t mind visiting the short right-field porch in the Bronx, he’s not accustomed to having to sweat out a drive like he did late on Tuesday.

“I was kind of blowing it out right there,” Judge said. “You’re hoping it sneaks over.”

Indeed it did, a 326-foot poke off reliever Caleb Boushley that will be remembered as the shortest home run of Judge’s career thus far. It would have cleared the fences at just three other ballparks, one being Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field, which has the same dimensions as the original Yankee Stadium.

Otherwise, only Fenway Park and Oracle Park would have yielded a trot – not that Judge had any remorse about his American League-leading 16th blast: “We’ll take them all. It counts the same as the longest one.”

The two-run drive helped to power the Yankees’ ninth win in 12 games, a 5-2 victory over the Rangers, as the Bombers improved to a season-high nine games over .500.

“I thought he got it, knowing where it was going,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He probably sliced it a little bit. I don’t know if the wind pushed it toward the line; it was pretty breezy out there. I felt like he got enough of it and I knew it had a chance.”

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Though Judge finished the evening with a .403 average, having reached base in 44 of 47 games, he arguably wasn’t the night’s brightest star. Those credentials could be shared by Will Warren, who one-upped his career best with a 10-strikeout performance, and Ben Rice, who continues to swing a sledgehammer at the plate.

Coming off a nine-strikeout performance at Seattle on May 21, Warren held Texas’ lineup to five hits and one walk, striking out the side around singles in both the second and fourth innings.

Warren’s moxie earned Boone’s trust for a crucial sixth-inning matchup against Marcus Semien. The rookie right-hander delivered: selecting a two-seamer for his 101st pitch, one he intended to generate a double-play grounder, the pitch instead punctured the strike zone on the outside corner for strikeout No. 10.

“That was awesome,” Warren said. “I’m going to go and give it my all until I’ve got nothing left. I’m glad he left me in that situation.”

The Yankees have been dreaming upon Warren’s potential for years; Judge recalled watching a live batting-practice session in Tampa several years ago, when he thought: “This is going to be something special here, when he finally gets the callup.”

Warren’s outings were marked by inconsistency last season, when he was thumped to a 10.32 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, but it’s all coming together now. Warren said he doesn’t believe his stuff has gotten better, but with each solid outing, he’s trusting it more.

Warren’s 11.57 K/9.0 ratio ranks third in the American League, behind only Cole Ragans (14.19) and Tarik Skubal (11.83) among pitchers with at least 40 innings under their belts. What does that tell Warren?

“Be aggressive in the zone, I guess,” Warren said. “Like I’ve said, if we execute our pitches, I think we’re going to have success.”

It’s a realization that might not have come so soon, had the Yanks’ rotation been at full strength. Instead of wasting bullets fine-tuning his arsenal in Triple-A, the 25-year-old is not just surviving here; now, he is thriving.

“It’s been fun to watch him grow and develop, especially this season,” Judge said. “I see him making huge strides. He’s going to be a big piece for us down the road, and he’s a big piece for us now.”

Oswald Peraza provided the glovework with a dazzling defensive play in the top of the sixth, hurtling over the tarpaulin down the third-base line to snag a Josh Smith popup, and much of the early offense was provided by Rice.

During batting practice, Boone corralled Rice to explain why he liked the matchup against Texas starter Patrick Corbin, even left-on-left. Boone told Rice: “You’ve got this guy,” and Rice made the manager look like a savant in the second inning, when he cracked a second-deck blast for his 10th homer of the season.

Rice scorched another ball in the fourth – a 111.0 mph scud to center field – only to see Texas’ Sam Haggerty rob him of extra bases. Statcast gave it a .930 expected average; Rice settled for a sac fly.

On more than one occasion, Rice has offered a chuckle and an aw-shucks shrug when asked about his eye-popping exit velocity.

“I think if you go up there with a good plan and execute, you’re probably going to hit the ball in the sweet spot,” Rice said.

Ah, but Statcast metrics don’t play humble. Carrying an extra 10 pounds on his frame compared to last June, Rice’s hard-hit percentage has skyrocketed 21.1% (36.7% to 57.8%), good for seventh in the Majors.

His average exit velocity is also up by 3.8 percent, to 93.8 mph. That confirms what the eye test suggests: when Rice gets pitches in the zone, he’s not just making contact – he’s crushing them, and using all of his available resources to do so.

“He’s cleaned up some things mechanically,” Judge said. “He’s always talking with [Giancarlo] Stanton, talking with me, talking with different guys about, ‘Hey, what do you look for here?’ He’s putting the whole total package together. It’s impressive -- and I’m looking forward to more.”