New York Yankees

Blue Jays look to stop Judge, Yanks in series finale (May 03, 2017)

Published May. 3, 2017 2:49 a.m. ET

NEW YORK -- Before the New York Yankees visit Wrigley Field, they are curious to see what Aaron Judge will do next.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays will attempt to stop the rookie and begin getting their disappointing start reversed.

Judge takes a major-league-best 12 home runs into Wednesday, when the American League East rivals conclude their first head-to-head series of the season.

Judge is 8-for-16 with five home runs and 10 RBIs on the current homestand. He recorded his first career multi-homer game Friday against the Baltimore Orioles and then homered twice Tuesday in New York's 11-5 victory over Toronto.

"Everybody's on notice," Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner said. "They know what he's capable of doing. and it's been tough to get him out. He's taking his walks. He's having good at-bats."

Judge leads the Yankees with 25 RBIs and 26 runs to go along with a .313 average and an a 1.219 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

"It's been extremely impressive, and you know along with the power also goes the walks," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Getting on base and running the bases and all the things that he did. The throw he made (Monday) night, the catches that he's made, I mean, he's just been a complete player."

Judge also is the youngest Yankee to hit 12 home runs through the first 25 games of a season, and he joined Hall of Famer Babe Ruth (12 in 1921) and Alex Rodriguez (14 in 2007) as the third player in team history to get at least 12 through this point of a season.

"I liked a lot of things about him last year," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I thought he had some holes last year. He's had an amazing start to the season."

Not so amazing is Toronto's 9-18 start. Although the Blue Jays are hitting better in recent games, it is their worst 27-game start since they opened 2004 with the same record.

In spite of the poor record, Gibbons is optimistic his team will get rolling, especially when Josh Donaldson (strained right calf) and Troy Tulowitzki (strained right hamstring) return.

"I've been with this particular group, and they've been very successful the last two years," Gibbons said. "I know what makes them tick. I know what they're made of, and one thing about this group, they never panic. They never tuck in their tail or anything like that."

Tasked with the responsibility of facing Judge on Wednesday is Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.97 ERA).

Stroman has pitched into the seventh inning in four starts so far, including Friday, when he allowed two runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stroman has pitched into the seventh inning in six of his last seven starts going back to the end of last season.

He is 5-2 with a 2.17 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees. At Yankee Stadium, Stroman is 2-2 with a 4.12 ERA in four starts.

Last season, he was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in three starts against New York. In a 2-0 loss at New York, he struck out eight and allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings on Sept. 5, while in two home starts, Stroman allowed two runs and four hits in 15 innings.

The current Yankees are a combined .176 (15-for-85) against him. The Yankee with the most success is Gardner, who is 5-for-22 (.227) with two home runs and five RBIs.

After Masahiro Tanaka allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings Tuesday, CC Sabathia starts for the Yankees on Wednesday.

Sabathia (2-1, 4.34) is not looking to become the answer to a trivia question again. He was the starting pitcher in New York's first win when trailing by at least eight runs in the Joe Girardi era on Friday against Baltimore.

Before Matt Holliday's 10th-inning, three-run home run gave the Yankees a 14-11 win, Sabathia allowed seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Sabathia is 15-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 26 all-time starts against Toronto. Last year, he was 0-3 with a 3.12 ERA in four starts against the Blue Jays as the Yankees scored six runs in those games.

He is 0-5 in his last six starts vs. Toronto since April 6, 2014, although the current Blue Jays active roster has batted .218 against him. That includes Jose Bautista, who is 5-for-40 (.125) with one home run and 10 strikeouts vs. Sabathia.