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Aaron Judge's first homer since World Baseball Classic return leads Yankees' 6-2 spring training win over Phillies

· Yahoo Sports

The Yankees closed their Grapefruit League spring training schedule with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., where Aaron Judge hit his first home run since rejoining New York after the World Baseball Classic.

Takeaways

  1. Judge's first game back as a Yankee after almost three weeks with Team USA was this past Friday's 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles, in which he struck out three time in as many at-bats. Saturday's 3-1 loss at the Detroit Tigers saw Judge sit, and the day off fared well for his Sunday return.

    His 1-for-2 afternoon featured a leadoff home run in the fifth inning against Aaron Nola -- Judge's first long ball since returning to New York from the WBC -- where Judge sent Nola's 2-2 pitch, an 85 mph changeup, down the left-field line and into the second deck.

    Players of Judge's caliber should not miss a beat. After he returned to the tune of Friday's 0-for-3 performance, his Sunday bounce back -- a third-inning walk included -- is a welcome sign for the Yankees with three days until Opening Day.
  2. Will Warren saved his best for last. He allowed one hit -- Kyle Schwarber's leadoff double -- in five shutout innings, retiring 15 straight Phillies while striking out six.

    Warren threw 44 strikes on 62 pitches. He ends his spring with a 1.42 ERA in 25.1 IP over six starts, striking out 16 and walking three.
  3. Ryan McMahon was a bright spot at the plate. His 2-for-3 day featured a third-inning leadoff single an RBI knock with two outs in the fourth, scoring Giancarlo Stanton and putting the Yankees up 1-0.
  4. In the outfield, Jasson Domínguez and Amed Rosario each had a defensive lapse. Domínguez, who will start the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, did not do himself any favors with his 0-for-2 performance after he replaced Judge's lineup spot. Domínguez's  misread on a deep fly ball to left field went down as an error and was a reminder of the struggles and inconsistencies that he has faced at the position.

    Rosario's right-field whiff should not be discounted, though he made the most of his mistake with an RBI single to polish off the Yankees' 6-2 lead with two outs in the eighth inning.

Who's the MVP?

Warren, who put the exclamation point on an impressive spring training and seems primed for this season.

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Highlights

What's next

The Yankees head to Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., for the first of their final two spring training games against the Chicago Cubs -- 3:05 p.m. starts Monday and Tuesday -- before they open the regular season with Wednesday's 8:05 matchup at the San Francisco Giants.

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