Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton both homer again in Yankees’ 3-0 win over Rockies

In the wise words of Yogi Berra, it was dèjà vu all over again as the Yankees cruised to a 3-0 win over the Rockies behind home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and six shutout innings from Carlos Rodon.

Here are the key takeaways…

-Rodon bounced back from a bad start in his previous outing in a big way Friday night vs. the Rockies. The left-hander silenced Colorado’s bats, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out five over six scoreless innings.

Rodon did not face much trouble, either. His biggest test came in the third after allowing a two-out double to Ezequiel Tovar to set up runners on second and third but he escaped the jam by striking out Brendan Rogers on a 2-2 slider in the dirt.

Rodon has now allowed three or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts.

-Another day, another home run for Judge. The AL MVP frontrunner slugged his 49th home run of the season on Friday, marking his fourth straight game with a home run and seven homers in his last eight games.

Judge got his hands just inside enough to barrel up a 91 mph inside fastball from Kyle Freeland and send it 388 feet into left field for a solo shot, which gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning.

The Yankees slugger is now on pace for 62 home runs as the chase continues for his own American League record he set two seasons ago.

-Stanton seems to be heating back up, too. The Yankees DH homered for the second straight game, ripping a 2-0 sinker 101.5 miles per hour off the bat vs. Freeland into right-center field to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.

Stanton now has five hits in his last 15 at-bats and four home runs in his last 12 games as the Yankees will continue to rely on him to provide critical protection for the likes of Juan Soto and Judge.

–Gleyber Torres gave fans a scare in the third inning when he fouled a pitch off his leg and fell to the ground. He appeared to be in significant pain but was able to stay in the game. He contributed to the Yankees’ second run of the game in the fifth inning when he hit a chopper to Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, who stabbed at the ball and dropped it, allowing Anthony Volpe to score from third base.

–Jake Cousins continues to emerge as a trustworthy arm in the Yankees bullpen. The 30-year-old right-hander threw another scoreless frame on Friday, striking out two batters and lowering his ERA to 1.88 on the season. He’s allowed just one earned run over his last 12.1 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts.

MVP of the Game: Carlos Rodon

While Judge and Stanton will make all the highlight reels and headlines, it was Rodon whose performance was most valuable on Friday night. The southpaw kept the Rockies off the board for six innings and worked through their lineup with relative ease for his 14th win of the season.

Highlights

What’s next

The Yankees continue their three-game series vs. Colorado on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. First pitch is scheduled at 2:05 p.m. ET while the team will celebrate Old-Timers Day prior to the game.

Will Warren (0-1, 8.59 ERA) will start for New York while the Rockies will send Bradley Blalock (0-0, 2.92 ERA) to the mound.