Aaron Judge and Yankees angry over home run that wasn't

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Aaron Judge and Yankees angry over home run that wasn't

2025-04-21 10:55 Last Updated At：11:01

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were angry over the home run that wasn't.

Judge drove a changeup from Tampa Bay's Eric Orze deep down the left-field line, high above the foul pole at Steinbrenner Field.

Umpires called the ball foul, a decision upheld in a video review. Judge and manager Aaron Boone were convinced it should have been Judge's eighth home run of the season.

“I think everybody is kind of scratching their head but nothing I can do about it. They missed it and we just got to move on,” Judge said following the Yankees’ 4-0 win.

Boone was ejected after plate umpire Adam Beck called a third strike on the next pitch.

“The audacity of the call standing is remarkable,” Boone said. “I get it’s high, towering, but then it goes to replay and I guess they couldn't find enough conclusive, so we got to live with the call.”

Judge started to have words with Beck after the called third strike. Boone came out of the dugout and immediately was tossed by Beck, then argued with third base umpire Scott Barry over the home run decision. It was the 40th managerial ejection for Boone and first this season.

“It was a fair ball, but that’s why you got replay,” Judge said. “It's tough in a situation like this where in a minor league park the foul poles aren’t as high, so that’s why you have replay, you got every angle. It's a terrible call.”

A two-time AL MVP, Judge is hitting .390 with a major league-leading 25 RBIs.

Yankees teammate Cody Bellinger was impressed by the drive, which landed in the trees beyond left field.

“It was probably the farthest ball I've ever seen hit,” he said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Timberwolves beat Curry-less Warriors 117-93 in Game 2 to even series

2025-05-09 12:44 Last Updated At：12:51

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves were stewing over their rough start in Game 1 against Golden State, a reaction coach Chris Finch was pleased to see.

Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 assists to help the Timberwolves capitalize on Warriors star Stephen Curry’s absence in a 117-93 victory Thursday that tied the second-round series at a game apiece.

The foundation was laid in an ornery film session with Finch and his staff the day before.

"He was unhappy, and he let us know he was unhappy, and we felt that,” Randle said. “We were pretty motivated as a team.”

Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points after an injury scare for the Wolves, who more than tripled their 3-point output (going 16 for 37) from their Game 1 loss when Curry was sidelined by a left hamstring strain that likely will keep him out at least until next week.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points to spearhead a superb performance by the bench, combining with Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid to go 10 for 22 from deep.

“We looked a lot more like ourselves,” Finch said.

Jonathan Kuminga (18 points) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (15) combined to shoot 14 for 17 from the floor for the Warriors. They took nearly five minutes to score, finally breaking through down 13-0 on Jimmy Butler's 3-pointer.

With the NBA's career leading 3-point shooter next to him on the bench, coach Steve Kerr used a kitchen-sink experiment with 14 players getting time.

“But I would still like to win,” Butler said. “I think the biggest lesson is don’t start off in a hole like we did tonight, and the game maybe could have ended up a little bit differently.”

Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft who dropped out of the rotation at times during the regular season and missed significant time with a sprained right ankle, was a bright spot off the bench. But this Warriors team was already thin on offense with a healthy Curry.

“We have to figure out what we’re going to be able to do in this series without Steph," Kerr said. “So we gave a lot of people a lot of chances, and some guys really stepped up.”

Against the Wolves and their athletic, long and versatile defense, there wasn't much to lean on. Without Curry to worry about, the Wolves had an easier time keeping shooters Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski quiet.

The Warriors put up their lowest first-quarter score (15) in the playoffs since Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals, according to Sportradar, when they had 11 in a loss to Cleveland.

Draymond Green picked up his fifth technical foul of the playoffs, two short of an automatic one-game suspension, for elbowing Naz Reid after Reid had just fouled him.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA