Yankees Dominate Rangers Behind Rice and Judge Homers, Warren's Pitching Brilliance
ICARO Media Group
**Yankees Secure 5-2 Victory Over Rangers with Rice, Judge Homers and Warren's Dominance**
Ben Rice and Aaron Judge showcased their power, while Will Warren delivered a standout performance on the mound, as the New York Yankees triumphed over the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the series opener on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Rice set the tone in the second inning by blasting a solo home run into the upper deck of right field off left-hander Patrick Corbin. This marked Rice's 10th homer of the season in just his 42nd game, a significant improvement from his seven homers in 50 games last year. Later in the game, Rice came through again with a sharp hit to center field, which resulted in a sacrifice fly, allowing Aaron Judge to score from third. Rice wrapped up the night an impressive 2-for-3.
The Yankees added to their lead in the sixth inning when Anthony Volpe hit a bloop single just beyond the reach of the sliding centerfielder, allowing Paul Goldschmidt to score from second base. This clutch hit extended the Yankees' advantage and gave Volpe a boost of confidence after being moved to the No. 5 spot in the lineup.
Judge came up big once more in the eighth inning with a two-run homer off Caleb Boushley, extending the Yankees' lead to 5-0. The homer was Judge's American League-leading 16th of the season and, at 326 feet, the shortest of his career. He finished the game with a 2-for-4 performance, maintaining a remarkable .403 batting average.
On the pitching side, Will Warren was in top form. Building on his previous strong outing, Warren struck out 10 batters, surpassing his previous career high of nine strikeouts set just a week earlier against the Mariners. He held the Rangers scoreless through 5.2 innings, giving up five hits and a walk over 101 pitches.
Warren faced a challenging situation in the sixth inning when the Rangers loaded the bases with a walk and two bloop singles. However, he managed to strike out Marcus Semien before giving way to reliever Mark Leiter Jr., who efficiently struck out Joc Pederson to end the threat.
The Yankees' bullpen then carried the load, keeping the Rangers off the board until Ian Hamilton allowed a two-run homer to Jonah Heim and a triple to the next batter. Luke Weaver entered and secured the final out to earn the save.
Key performances included Cody Bellinger extending his hitting streak to 14 games with a 1-for-3 night and Trent Grisham breaking out of a slump with a 2-for-4 effort.
The Yankees will continue their three-game series against the Rangers on Wednesday night. Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.70 ERA) is set to start for the Yankees, while Jacob deGrom (4-1, 2.29 ERA) will take the mound for the Rangers.