Aaron Judge sets tone with 52nd homer of MLB season, Mookie Betts hits 33rd
Slugger Giancarlo Stanton and manager Aaron Boone both say the New York Yankees still control their destiny.
Time might be running out for that, however.
Corey Kluber limited the Yankees to a pair of singles over seven shutout innings and the Tampa Bay Rays withstood Aaron Judge's 52nd home run, beating New York 2-1 Saturday night to cut their deficit in the AL East to four games.
The first-place Yankees, who have seen their 15 1/2-game advantage slip away, have lost six of seven. Tampa Bay blanked them on five hits in the series opener Friday night, a 9-0 loss that Boone called "embarrassing."
Judge boosted his major league homer lead with a leadoff drive in the ninth inning off Jason Adam. But Adam retired the next three batters for his eighth save.
The blast kept the Yankees from being shut out for the 13th time this season, and seventh over the last 26 games.
Mookie Bets reaches 33 home runs, his best mark in a season
Julio Urias continued to solidify his spot atop the Dodgers' rotation while Mookie Betts hit one of Los Angeles' four home runs in a 12-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night that ended their three-game losing streak.
Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Will Smith also homered as the Dodgers ended their first skid of three games since they were swept by San Francisco in June. Betts' home run was his career-best 33rd.
Manny Machado homered for the Padres, who had won four in a row.
Urias (15-7) gave up just one run on two hits over six innings to earn the win for the 11th time in his last 13 starts to go along with a loss and a no-decision. In the process, he has moved atop a talented rotation that has been forced to make adjustments.
Staff ace Walker Buehler is out for the season after Tommy John surgery, Clayton Kershaw is just returning from his second injured list stint and All-Star Tony Gonsolin is on the IL with a forearm strain.
A 20-game winner from a season ago, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has expressed comfort in having Urias head the staff into October.
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