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MOOSIC — The pure power of Aaron Judge and his 16 home runs earned the hulking Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder the International League’s Player of the Month for June and helped make him a starting Triple-A All-Star.
But the 6-foot-7, 275-pound New York Yankees prospect doesn’t always rely on brute strength for production.
Instead of celebrating the Fourth of July with a big booming fireworks display Monday, Judge made plenty of noise with a couple of firecrackers.
His two-run single in the third inning and RBI hit in the fifth proved enough to lift the RailRiders over Lehigh Valley, 5-2 at PNC Field on Monday.
“It’s all about getting on base and just trying to keep the chain moving,” Judge said.
In doing that, he moved the numbers on the scoreboard.
A couple batters after Eddy Rodriguez used the first of his three hits to tie the game 1-1 in the second inning, Judge stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners in scoring position.
He responded by blistering a single to center field, scoring Rodriguez and Ben Gamel for a 3-1 lead the RailRiders never lost.
“For me, it’s getting a good pitch to hit,” Judge said. “If I make solid contact, it’ll get the job done. If not, the guys in back of me will get it done.”
Rodriguez got things done by scoring twice during his 3 for 4 night, and the RailRiders also prospered with plenty of defense.
RailRiders left fielder Cesar Puello ran a country mile into foul territory to chase down Cedric Hunter’s high drive with a headlong dive for the catch in the second inning. And RailRiders first baseman Tyler Austin immediately followed by tracking down a looper off the bat of Cam Perkins with a nifty, over-the-shoulder grab in short right field.
An inning later, RailRiders shortstop Jonathan Diaz fielder a chopper up the middle, stepped on second base with a runner bearing down on him and fired to first for a double play.
After Lehigh Valley turned a double play in the fifth inning, Judge used another two-out single to drive home Rodriguez for the second time and double the RailRiders lead, 4-2.
“We’ve got so much talent in this lineup,” Judge said. “We’ve got Tyler Austin, Gary Sanchez has been on fire. I’m trying to get on base for them.”
Lehigh Valley had men on base all night against RailRiders starter Luis Severino, but the hard-throwing righthander worked out of trouble while surrendering eight hits in his seven innings and limited the IronPigs to single runs in the first and fifth innings. He moved to 5-0 on the season and remained unbeaten over two seasons with the RailRiders, running his Triple-A record to 12-0.
Nick Goody worked a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season, but the RailRiders saved their best for last.
They signed hats to be auctioned off for charity after most of the team sat near the dugout watching an impressive postgame fireworks display at PNC Field.
“Amazing,” Judge called it. “Really nice.”
RailRiders 5, Lehigh Valley 2
Lehigh Valley`AB`R`H`BI
Featherston 3b`4`0`2`1
Crawford ss`4`0`0`0
Williams lf`4`1`1`0
Ruf 1b`4`0`1`1
Knapp c`4`0`0`0
Hunter dh`4`0`0`0
Perkins cf`4`0`0`0
Lough rf`3`1`3`0
Burriss 2b`3`0`1`0
Totals`34`2`8`2
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Gamel dh`3`1`2`1
Solano 3b`4`0`0`0
Judge rf`4`0`2`3
Austin 1b`4`0`0`0
Puello lf`3`0`0`0
Cave cf`4`0`1`0
Rosario 2b`3`1`1`0
Diaz ss`3`1`0`0
Rodriguez c`4`2`3`1
Totals`32`5`9`5
Lehigh Valley`100`010`000`—`2
RailRiders`003`011`00x`—`5
2B — Williams (20), Lough (5), Featherston (17); Rosario (2), Gamel (13).
Lehigh Valley`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Russell, L (2-5)`7`9`5`5`1`3
Garcia`1`0`0`0`1`0
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Severino, W (5-0)`7`8`2`2`0`4
Webb`1`0`0`0`0`0
Goody, S (3)`1`0`0`0`0`0