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Bryan Hoch/Yankees Beat
Juan Soto makes little secret of his disdain for watching games from the bench. But when the outfielder’s bruised right hand still presented an issue in the hours before Sunday’s scheduled first pitch, the Yankees filled out their lineup card without his name. Soto still had time to change minds, prompting a new batting order to be filed just minutes before game time. Soto ripped a 106.5 mph single in his first at-bat, Aaron Judge hit his Major League-leading 31st homer and the Yankees were off and rolling in an 8-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. When Soto knocked on manager Aaron Boone’s door with good news, the Yankees scrambled to produce a new lineup, a task made more challenging when bench coach Brad Ausmus saw his computer freeze. But there have been few glitches for Judge, who appears to be a lock to earn his second consecutive American League Player of the Month Award, putting the finishing touches on a June in which he hit .409 with 11 homers with 37 RBIs. Batting .316 with a Major League-leading 81 RBIs, Judge completed Sunday’s action first or second in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. (The Angels’ Luis Rengifo leads the league with a .317 batting average.) The Yankees haven’t had a Triple Crown winner since Mickey Mantle in 1956. The homer was the 288th of Judge’s career, surpassing Bernie Williams (287) for sole possession of seventh place on the franchise’s all-time list. Judge’s early blast provided immediate support behind an encouraging start for Cole, who completed five innings in his third start since returning from the injured list, earning his first victory of the season.
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