Marcus Stroman bounces back, Aaron Judge hits 299th home run as Yankees win series vs. Rangers

NEW YORK — A little extra bullpen work served Marcus Stroman well.

Pitching Sunday for the first time since he was pushed back to tinker with his mechanics, Stroman delivered one of his strongest starts in two months in the New York Yankees’ 8-7 win over the Texas Rangers in the Bronx.

Aaron Judge, meanwhile, moved closer to MLB history with his 299th career home run.

Stroman limited the defending World Series champions to one run over five-plus innings, working around four hits and three walks on 89 pitches to help the Yankees (70-49) clinch a series victory.

“It’s hard, over the course of a year, to be so dialed in mechanically,” Stroman said. “You’re gonna go through spurts, so I’m glad to kind of lock it back into where I need to be.”

Stroman threw only six four-seam fastballs, which averaged 90.0 mph. That was up slightly from his season average of 89.8 mph entering Sunday, but still down from his average of 92.0 mph last year. He finished the day with one strikeout and only one swing and miss.

“I’m not results-based,” Stroman said. “Definitely making strides in the right direction, but I feel confident.”

The right-hander, who primarily leans on his sinker, entered Sunday with a 6.32 ERA over his previous 10 starts. He surrendered seven runs in 2.2 innings his last time out in a home loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stroman was originally in line to pitch Thursday, but the Yankees pushed his start back by three days to give him time to make adjustments. On Thursday, Stroman said he “figured some things out” in the bullpen and felt he’d made the necessary changes.

“Probably the extra couple of days [helped], but turning those into work days, too, allowed him to fine tune that a little bit,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Felt like he did a better job, just from the ground up. I thought his lower half set him up for success today, and that was maybe the difference in him pitching the way he did.”

A Long Island native, the 33-year-old Stroman joined the Yankees in the offseason on a two-year, $37 million contract with a conditional player option. He pitched to a 2.60 ERA through his first 12 starts.

He improved to 8-6 with a 4.01 ERA overall this season.

Judge’s home run — a seventh-inning solo shot — was his MLB-best 42nd. He now boasts 299 career homers in 952 games. The fastest to 300 home runs was Ralph Kiner, who achieved the feat in 1,087 games.

“That’s not what we play for,” Judge said of approaching 300. “I just play to help this team win and put them in a good position. Hopefully it comes with a win. Then it will be something special.”

Judge’s homer was one of four hit by the Yankees on Sunday. Juan Soto clubbed two, including one directly before Judge’s, giving him 30 for the season. Soto has now homered against all 30 MLB teams.

It was the fourth time Soto and Judge went back-to-back.

“It’s special,” Stroman said of the sluggers. “I truly think we’re witnessing history. I think we take it for granted a little bit, just because [with] how incredible they are each and every day, it’s easy to just kind of think that’s just expected. It’s hard to even put into words what they’re doing this year.”

Giancarlo Stanton, meanwhile, hit a three-run blast in the fifth inning, immediately after the Rangers issued an intentional walk to Judge.

It was the sixth time an opponent walked Judge intentionally in the last eight games.

“You’ve got to want that opportunity and be able to capitalize on it,” Stanton said of making teams pay for walking Judge. “Otherwise, it’s gonna keep happening. Whether it’s me or a lefty [hitter] behind him, depending who’s starting, it’s important for us to capitalize on that.”

The Yankees led 8-3 after seven innings, but reliever Mark Leiter Jr. surrendered three runs on homers to Nathaniel Lowe and Carson Kelly to cut Texas’ deficit to 8-6.

Yankees closer Clay Holmes then sweated out a four-out save, issuing two walks, a hit and a run on 45 pitches. The game ended with Leody Taveras grounding out to second base with runners on second and third.

Texas starter Andrew Heaney, who pitched to a 7.32 ERA over 12 appearances with the Yankees in 2021, was charged with four runs (three earned) in 4 2/3 innings Sunday and took the loss to fall to 4-12. The Yankees improved to 13-17 in games started by left-handers this year.

The Yankees split a doubleheader with the Rangers (55-63) on Saturday. With Sunday’s win, they finished their season-long homestand at 5-4.

The Baltimore Orioles lost Sunday in Tampa Bay, putting the Yankees back into a tie for first place in the AL East.

Next up is Chicago, where the Yankees are set to begin a three-game series against the MLB-worst White Sox (28-91). Chicago snapped a 21-game losing streak — tied for the longest in American League history — last week but has dropped its three games since.

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