DJ LeMahieu drives in all six runs as Yankees top Phillies 6-5 to complete series sweep

The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, winning 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon.

Here are the key takeaways…

–DJ LeMahieu came into the game hitting just .173 with one home run and 13 RBI, but he had a tremendous day at the plate on Wednesday afternoon. In the second inning, LeMahieu cashed in on a bases-loaded opportunity, lining a grand slam just over the fence in left-center. The ball was originally ruled in play, but replay correctly overturned the call to a grand slam.

After the Phillies had scored three runs to cut the lead to one, LeMahieu tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth.

–Nestor Cortes retired the first nine Phillies he faced in order, showing off some of his patented hesitation deliveries as he kept the Phillies quiet through the first three. He finally allowed a couple of runs in the fourth and then gave up a solo homer to Weston Wilson in the fifth, but it was an overall good day for the Cortes, whose name had been mentioned in trade rumors before the deadline.

The lefty went 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits. He stuck out six and walked two, lowering his season ERA to 4.16.

–Jazz Chisholm Jr. was kept in the yard for the first time this series, but he added a single in the second inning, giving him six hits in three games against the Phils.

-It was a rare bad day at the plate for Aaron Judge, who struck out three times against Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez. It marked the first time Judge struck out three times against a lefty start since Chris Sale in 2018.

Judge punched out four times in total, going 0-for-4.

-The Yankees bullpen didn’t make this one easy. First, Luke Weaver allowed a run on a pair of hits in the seventh, and then the newly acquired Mark Leiter Jr. had a rough go in the eighth, loading the bases before coming up with a clutch strikeout of Brandon Marsh to get out of the inning.

After blowing the save on Tuesday night, Clay Holmes allowed a leadoff single to Kyle Schwarber to start things in the ninth, but an Austin Hays flyout to the warning track and a double play off the bat of the ice-cold Bryce Harper ended the game, giving New York the sweep.

Who was the game MVP?

LeMachine, who had a throwback game, drove in all of the Yanks runs to make it a 5-1 road trip to Boston and Philly.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Yankees are off on Thursday before starting a nine-game homestand on Friday, when the Toronto Blue Jays come to town.

Marcus Stroman will start for the Yankees on Friday, while the Blue Jays haven’t announced their pitching plans. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.