Yankees avoid getting swept by Dodgers despite hitless night from Aaron Judge

Ryan Yarbrough limited baseball’s best offense to four hits over six innings, Ben Rice hit a tiebreaking two-run homer and the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Sunday to avoid getting swept for the first time this season.

The Dodgers outscored the Yankees 26-7 in winning the first two games of their World Series rematch, including an 18-2 rout Saturday. But right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the stalwart on a staff ravaged by injuries, labored from the start in front of 54,031, the largest crowd of the season at Dodger Stadium.

Yarbrough (3-0) allowed one run and struck out five in his fifth start of the year. He was a reliever for the Dodgers last season and received his World Series ring while in town.

Yamamoto (6-4) gave up a season-high seven hits while striking out two in 3 2/3 innings, both season lows. The Japanese right-hander permitted four runs and walked three.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a season-high seven hits while striking out two in 3 2/3 innings, both season lows.(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

New York’s DJ LeMahieu had his first four-hit game since 2021.

The Yankees led 1-0 on Jasson Dominguez’s RBI single in the first. Left fielder Andy Pages’ throw sailed over the head of catcher Will Smith. Backing up Smith, Yamamoto made a pinpoint throw to second, but Kike Hernandez dropped the ball and Domínguez was safe.

Domínguez later left the game with a bruised left thumb.

Tommy Edman tied the game with a two-out homer in the second. After that, Yarbrough retired 13 of his next 15 batters. Pages and Max Muncy homered in the seventh.

The Yankees took a 4-1 lead in the third. Rice’s 425-foot homer to center field scored Aaron Judge, who walked. Anthony Volpe singled, went to third on Austin Wells’ single and scored on Yamamoto’s wild pitch.

They extended the lead to 6-1 in the fifth on RBI singles by LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza off Lou Trivino. LeMahieu’s RBI double made it 7-3 in the ninth.

Key moment

Judge and Shohei Ohtani were hitless after becoming the first reigning MVPs in major league history to homer in the first inning of a game on Friday. Judge was 0 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts as the only Yankees player to go hitless. Ohtani went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Key stats

The Yankees are 4-0 this season when facing a series sweep, having beaten Arizona, Detroit, Cleveland and the Dodgers. They’re also one of three teams that hasn’t been swept in a series of at least two games. … It was the first time this season the Dodgers’ top four hitters went hitless: Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman and Smith.

Up next

After an off day, Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon (7-3, 2.60 ERA) starts Tuesday against Cleveland.

Dodgers RHP Dustin May (3-4, 4.20) pitches Monday night against the New York Mets.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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