NEW YORK – When you call more than 5,000 consecutive games, as John Sterling did, a trusted formula tends to emerge. The legendary broadcaster once said he favored power-hitting lineups, understanding that teams that made things happen gave him room to entertain and “do my act.”
The Yankees delivered that kind of night.
Aaron Judge followed an emotional pregame ceremony by belting his 14th home run, backing Cam Schlittler and helping fuel a late barrage to complete a four-game sweep of the Orioles with a 12-1 victory on Monday at Yankee Stadium.
“Seeing that tribute hit home, because he loved the Yankees – he loved this team, he loved this franchise, he loved the fans,” Judge said. “To do that there in the first, I was chuckling around the bases, thinking about what he was probably saying.”
Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman laid bouquets across home plate before first pitch as both teams observed a moment of silence for Sterling, who passed away on Monday at 87.
After the final out, a recording of Sterling’s signature “Yankees win, theeee Yankees win!” call was played. Judge said he hopes to see that continue as a permanent stadium tradition.
“I think it’d be a nice little tip of the cap to John and what he meant to so much of this franchise and this fan base,” Judge said.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone agreed, suggesting the call should precede the playing of Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York” after each victory.
“I’d love it, yeah – right on into Frank,” Boone said.
Each Yankees player wore Sterling’s initials on the back of his cap in tribute, while organist Ed Alstrom played ditties of Broadway show tunes throughout the night.
Judge delivered a moment Sterling would have savored, clobbering a full-count Shane Baz offering into the right-field bullpen.
On the YES Network broadcast, Kay paid homage to his former radio partner, borrowing a trademark Sterling call.
“It is high, it is far, it is gone!” Kay said, continuing: “Aaron Judge, a Judgian blast! Here comes the Judge!”
The homer was Judge’s sixth of the year and 91st of his career in the first inning – third most in Yankees history, behind only Babe Ruth (126) and Mickey Mantle (103). Judge has hit 11 homers in his past 21 games (since April 12), quieting any concerns about a slow start.
“It’s just repetition,” Judge said. “That’s the same thing I’ve been working on since February. Now you get 115, 120 plate appearances under your belt and things kind of start clicking. I’ve just got to keep that rolling.”
Schlittler offered an amped outing, clocked with the six fastest pitches of his Major League career – all at 100.9 mph or above, topping out at 101.3 mph.
Though it wasn’t Schlittler’s sharpest effort, he limited Baltimore to one run on seven hits and three walks, including a bases-loaded walk to Colton Cowser that ended his evening in the sixth.
“I think he discovered something delivery-wise that got him a little more power,” Boone said. “He was having a little bit of a hard time harnessing it at the level he’s used to. There were a handful of pitches that didn’t do exactly what he was expecting, but he was electric.”
After being charged with an automatic ball for a PitchCom issue, Jake Bird struck out Jeremiah Jackson on a nasty sweeper to strand three. Bird revealed that he’d forgotten to grab one of the PitchCom receivers, for which he received some grief in the dugout.
“I forgot to grab one, so that was my issue – I was just an airhead,” Bird said.
New York added three runs in the sixth. Jasson Domínguez scored on a wild pitch, Ryan McMahon stroked a run-scoring single and José Caballero knocked an RBI double.
They piled on with six runs in the eighth, highlighted by Cody Bellinger’s two-run triple and Judge’s two-run single.
The Yankees have won 14 of their past 16 games since April 17, building upon the American League’s best record. This marked their fourth sweep of the season as they outscored Baltimore 39-10 across the four-game set.
“We’ve got to close it out – doesn’t matter if it’s a three-game series or a four-game series, especially with how other teams in our division are playing,” Judge said. “You’ve got to stack up these wins as much as you can, because tonight could be that one game that helps us win a division down there in September or October.”