SEATTLE (AP) - Aaron Judge hit a colossal three-run homer that nearly soared out of Safeco Field, and CC Sabathia won on his 37th birthday as the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Friday night.
Judge's 31st home run in the fifth inning was memorable and nearly historic . The big slugger clobbered a hanging curveball from Seattle starter Andrew Moore (1-2) into the second deck in left field, with the ball landing three rows from the top of the stadium. No one has hit one out of Safeco during a game since the ballpark opened midway through the 1999 season.
Judge came close and continued to emerge from a post-All-Star break slump thanks to his first home run since July 7. He finished with four RBIs, including a sacrifice fly that gave New York a 2-1 lead.
His long homer left the stadium buzzing and there were more than a smattering of boos when he was walked on a 3-2 pitch by reliever Emilio Pagan in the seventh. Moore got the better of the slugger with a three-pitch strikeout in the first and got Judge to fly out to deep center field his next at-bat.
Moore's mistake was falling behind in the count and leaving his breaking ball elevated. Judge's uppercut swing was on a perfect path and the ball quickly found its way into the seats.
Clint Frazier also had an RBI double as the Yankees won for the third time in four games.
Sabathia (9-3) allowed one run but lasted only one batter into the sixth due to a pitch count that became inflated in the early innings. Seattle sent seven batters to the plate in the first but left the bases loaded and managed just one run on Kyle Seager's infield hit. Seattle also had traffic on the bases in the second and third, but Sabathia avoided any damage.
The left-hander retired eight straight before walking Seager to open the sixth.
PERFECT DEBUT
The newest addition to New York's bullpen was dominant. David Robertson struck out the side in an impressive inning, his first appearance since being reacquired from the White Sox in a trade. Dellin Betances had a shaky eighth while allowing two hits - Seattle's first since the second inning - but no runs.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma is continuing with his throwing program but there is no set time on when he might get back on the mound. Iwakuma has been out since early May with shoulder inflammation.
"He's been playing catch consistently. Once he gets out to about 150 feet, then we can get him on the mound and throw a bullpen," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. "He's not there yet, but he is feeling better, pain-free, which are all good signs."
UP NEXT
Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (7-9) has won two of his last four starts after a miserable stretch with six losses in eight outings. Tanaka threw 7 2/3 innings and allowed three runs in his last start against Boston.
Mariners: Ariel Miranda (7-4) will make his team-high 20th start of the season. Miranda went 5 2/3 innings in his last start against Houston and got a no-decision. His last win was on June 30.
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