The Dodgers are second in the majors behind the Rays with 100 home runs hit this year. The Yankees are fourth at 93 and the two teams have combined for 11 home runs in the first two games of this series. The Dodgers hit four Friday (two by Mookie Betts) and won. The Yankees hit Saturday’s only four — the two by Bauers and one each by Judge and Oswaldo Cabrera — and won.
Two of the three games between the Dodgers and Yankees this weekend have been picked up for national broadcasts — FOX on Saturday and ESPN today. The two networks were clearly drawn by the star power on the two teams as evidenced by the promos hyping the series featuring Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Judge and Gerrit Cole.
There was no mention of Bauers, a well-traveled reserve outfielder from Huntington Beach.
Bauers’ power was the only blemish on Michael Grove’s return to the rotation.
Out since April 20 due to a groin injury, Grove returned with added velocity on his fastball (a career-best 96.5 mph average Saturday) and a slider sharp enough to induce eight of his 13 swings-and-misses (also a career-high).
Bauers crushed one of each.
Drafted by the Padres, Bauers has passed through five organizations — the Padres, Rays, Guardians, Mariners and Reds — before landing with the Yankees. He got a hanging slider on 1-and-1 in his first at-bat and sent it 414 feet into the right-field pavilion for his first two-run home run.
Two innings later, Grove grooved a 2-and-2 fastball over the heart of the plate and Bauers delivered the same result, a 409-foot drive over the wall in right field.
The rest of the Yankees’ lineup went 2 for 17 with seven strikeouts against Grove.
“Some work I was able to do. I had a couple weeks off. Just mechanical stuff,” Grove said by way of explaining the jump in velocity.
“Really, (it was) just evaluating my delivery and how to use my legs a little bit better. It was nothing crazy. It was just a small tweak. But it allowed me to get behind the baseball a little bit.”
The Dodgers’ offense couldn’t get behind him, managing just one run in six innings against Cole. Even that wasn’t up to the mashing standards of the weekend. The score was produced when Cole hit Jason Heyward with a pitch and David Peralta dropped a bloop hit down the left field line. The pop up was surrounded by the left fielder, shortstop and third baseman but caught by none.
Cole came out of the game after six innings and a season-low 80 pitches due to cramping. With three left-handed hitters scheduled to come up for the Dodgers in the seventh, Yankees manager Aaron Boone went with lefty reliever Wandy Peralta. Roberts countered with three consecutive right-handed pinch-hitters. All three reached base.
Chris Taylor singled and scored when Miguel Vargas rattled a triple along the wall in the left-field corner. Trayce Thompson walked and Peralta was pulled in favor of right-hander Michael King. Thompson suffered an oblique injury on a checked swing during his plate appearance and will likely land on the Injured list.
Miguel Rojas greeted King with an RBI single up the middle that put the tying runs on base for the top of the lineup.
But Betts and Freeman hit line drives at infielders and Will Smith was called out on strikes, the third one on a slider that appeared to drop below the strike zone.
It was still a two-run lead when Judge crashed into the bullpen to run down Martinez’s drive in the eighth inning.
“It’s a great catch,” Martinez said. “‘Did he catch it?’ That was about it, that was my reaction. Just hoping he dropped it.”
The Dodgers stranded runners at third in the eighth and ninth innings, finishing the day 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.