Judge takes HR lead with 113.1 mph homer

NEW YORK -- Home-field advantage carries a different meaning this season, with players unable to bank on a crowd’s energy to raise their adrenaline levels. Yet the Yankees believe they always have the upper hand in their building, where their fearsome lineup slugs home runs in bunches and they have yet to lose a game in 2020.

Luke Voit mashed a three-run homer and Aaron Judge added his Major League-leading ninth long ball, powering the Yankees past the Braves, 9-6, on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The Bombers have won all five games played in the Bronx this season and have homered in 13 straight contests at home, dating back to last year.

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“We had to get back to having better at-bats,” Voit said. “I think tonight we controlled the zone a lot better. Guys hit with runners in scoring position and put the pressure on the pitchers. We got some better pitches to hit tonight and took advantage of it.”

Voit’s fifth homer of the season provided an early advantage while Judge continued to impress, pelting an advertising board overlooking the right-field bullpen with a 432-foot blast. Judge’s homer came off his bat at 113.1 mph, according to Statcast, and the slugger is also tied for the Major League lead with 20 RBIs.

“It's just fun to watch, honestly,” said Mike Ford, who doubled twice and drove in three runs. “It couldn't happen to a better person. His start has been incredible, but he puts that work in. He works just as hard, if not harder, than everyone. It's awesome to see.”

There were questions raised when Judge was removed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning, with the Yankees leading by five runs. Judge remained in the dugout to watch for a half-inning, then returned to the clubhouse to receive what manager Aaron Boone said was “normal treatment.”

Boone said that with what appeared to be a safe lead in hand, he wanted to give Judge a few innings off following four games on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field. The Yankees had an off-day on Monday and will have another on Thursday, but thus far Judge has appeared in all 17 of the club’s games.

“Coming off of four days on the turf and with a little bit of leverage there, just trying to be smart with these guys,” Boone said. “Judgie hasn't really had that day down. I gave him the DH day [on Aug. 5] and I just want to make sure we're being smart with everyone.”

Full Monty

Jordan Montgomery pitched well for the second time in three starts, carving through Atlanta’s lineup with relative ease. He tossed five scoreless frames before Marcell Ozuna touched him for a three-run homer in the sixth.

“I really just went after them,” Montgomery said. “I trusted in my pitches better. I threw my cutter better, executed a lot more fastballs and changeups late. The offense really stepped up and got a lot of runs for me to get comfortable.”

Though Montgomery’s curveball was absent in his last start, when he was hit hard by the Phillies, it re-emerged as a reliable piece of his 78-pitch effort on Tuesday. Montgomery scattered four hits with a walk, striking out four.

“I thought he was very aggressive early in the game and established his fastball,” Boone said. “I thought his changeup was really good. He tired a little bit in the sixth inning, his stuff wasn't quite as sharp. But I thought overall he was dictating some counts.”

Ford fiesta

With Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, Ford is making a bid to continue logging at-bats as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Ford ripped a two-run double early as the Yanks thumped Touki Toussaint for six runs (five earned) over four innings. He added a run-scoring double in the seventh.

“I'm a very confident hitter,” Ford said. “I know I can help this team when given the chance. That's just kind of my personality. I thought I did pretty well proving that last year with consistent at-bats up here. It's a small sample size, so you’ve got to keep changing as the league changes with you.”

Zack attack

Zack Britton worked a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout, recording his sixth save in as many opportunities and bouncing back after a tough loss in Sunday’s series finale at Tampa Bay.

Boone would have preferred not to use his higher-leverage bullpen arms, but a combination of ineffective relief and key errors by infielders DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres saw the Braves close the gap on what had once been an 8-0 Yankees lead.

“We obviously didn't play our best game tonight,” Boone said. “We got a little sloppy there in the second half of the game, but it was a really good start by Monty and we swung the bats really well to give us that lead.”