Aaron Judge, Domingo German lead Yankees in rout of Red Sox

Let’s all agree this is exactly how every game between the Yankees and Red Sox should play out in 2019. The Bombers jumped out to an early lead courtesy of monster home run by Aaron Judge — his fifth of the spring. They continuously added on as the game unfolded, plus received quality pitching all the way through. Talk about a recipe for success.

For a full breakdown of today’s 14-1 win, you can find the full box score here. In the meantime, here are three highlights:

1. Something’s cooking with Domingo German. The right-hander tossed four shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He struck out six batters along the way. German’s changeup proved the story of his outing. It appears he honed that pitch, and went to it reliably. If he can continue to do so during the season, the Yankees’ rotation will be in solid shape. He always had the pure stuff. Now it looks like he’s developing “pitchability”. It’s still just spring training, but the excitement is building with German.

2. The Yankees scored a bunch of runs on Friday. It’s tough to pick just one to elaborate on as a takeaway. I’ll go with the fourth inning, though, as Tyler Wade stood on first as a pinch runner. DJ LeMahieu hit a double to left field, and Wade turned on the jets. He scored from first on the double, showing off his trademark speed. That skillset, paired with his defensive flexibility, tickets him for a bench role in the Bronx. Questions will persist over his ability to hit at the major league level, but if he can even be league average at the plate, he will have a lot of value.

3. When Major League Baseball announced a three-batter minimum for relief pitchers starting in 2020, it threatened the existence of left-handed specialists like...Aroldis Chapman? Aaron Boone brought Chapman in to face one batter as a way to prepare him for appearing in back-to-back games.

That turned out way more entertaining than it should have been.

Highlight of the Game

How does he do that with a two-strike swing? Goodness, Judge.

The Yankees are back in action tomorrow afternoon against the Blue Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM, and it will be on YES and WFAN.