Cubs spoil Judge’s milestone blast as Yankees' offense stalls

New York—Aaron Judge made history launching his 350th career home run today, but the Yankees dropped this one 5-2 to the Cubs. A couple of All-Stars faced off on the mound. Max Fried got the nod for the Yankees and faced off against Matthew Boyd for the Cubs. 

The game started with a leadoff triple from Nico Horner on a ball that had a 60% catch probability, but Trent Grisham couldn't make the play as he clearly isnt 100% with his hamstring still and is playing center field for whatever reason. That ended up costing the Yankees as Kyle Tucker picked up an RBI groundout to make it 1-0 Cubs. 

Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge went down in order for the Yankees in the bottom half of the first inning. 

Carson Kelly made it a 2-0 game in the top of the third via a RBI single. It looked like the Yankees were out of the inning, but a high throw from Jazz Chisholm Jr. allowed a run to score, making it 3-0. Ian Happ then made it 4-0 with an RBI single.

Ian Hamilton took over for Fried in the top of the fourth inning as Fried had to leave the game due to a blister on his left index finger and retired the Cubs in order.

"I was bad. I just wasn't good. Not being able to execute pitches and get outs when I needed them," Fried said. 

"I would say it's early to tell,” Fried said about his blister. “The good thing is we have the break, and being able to try to do as much as we can. As far as timelines, I don't know exactly how this one is going to shake out. A lot of the time, you just have to see how it starts healing over the next couple of days." 

Judge lined a two-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth inning for the Yankees' first hit of the game.

Hamilton remained in the game for the top of the fifth inning and worked a 1-2-3 inning. 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. legged out a leadoff infield single in the bottom of the fifth inning but was quickly erased on a double play off the bat of Grisham. 

Scott Effross replaced Hamilton on the bump in the top of the sixth inning and set the Cubs down in order. 

Jonathan Loáisiga got the call out of the bullpen to take over for Effross in the top of the seventh inning and retired the Cubs in order while picking up a strikeout in the process. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Judge bounced a ground rule double into the left field stands. However, that would be all for the Yankees.

Loáisiga served up his career-high seventh home run of the season to Kelly to make it a 5-0 game. Tim Hill took over for Loáisiga and recorded the final three outs of the top of the eighth. 

"Keep praying for health-I know that things will turn around and I'll start getting the results I want," Loáisiga said.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Anthony Volpe picked up a line drive single to left field, but that would be all for the Yankees, as Boyd has shut them out through eight innings. 

JT Brubaker was called upon to take over for Hill in the top of the ninth inning and worked a scoreless inning. 

Belli extended his hit streak to 17 games in a row with a one-out ground-rule double into the left field stands. Judge followed that up with a two-run bomb, his 35th of the year, to make it a 5-2 game. It was Judge's 350th home run of his career as he passed Mark McGwire, who did it in 1,280 games, for the fastest player ever to reach that mark in just 1,088 games. However, that would be all for the Yankees as their rally fell short in the bottom of the ninth, as the Yankees dropped this one 5-2. 

"I honestly got nothing to be honest. It would have been great if we had gotten a win today. You do something like that," Judge said on his milestone home run. “But I've been surrounded by a lot of great teammates, been on some good teams. So they've really put me in the best position to go out there and perform at my best. So it's really just a shout out to all my teammates I've had over the years." 

The Yankees will look to bounce back tomorrow with Will Warren on the mound, facing off against Shota Imanaga for the Cubs. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Well, some days you just unfortunately run into a starting pitcher who is completely locked in, like Boyd was today for the Cubs. Fried didn't have his best stuff today, but a large part of that was likely due to his blister, which clearly seemed to be bothering him. The bullpen was almost perfect, other than Loáisiga, who worked a clean inning. Then Boone tried to push his luck and bring him out for another inning of work, and he served up a home run. Not much offense for the Yankees, but Judge did have three hits, two doubles, and his 350th career home run, which was cool to see. Belli also extended his hit streak in his last opportunity, so that was nice. Hamilton, Effross, Brubaker, and Hill all looked really solid out of the bullpen after a short start from Fried. On to tomorrow with a chance to win the series, but the Cubs definitely have the pitching advantage tomorrow.