No Aaron Judge, no problem? Yankees show they’re still a force to be reckoned with

PHOENIX — Just in case anyone thought the New York Yankees would simply fade away into the night, their season drifting out to sea with the news that Aaron Judge may be done for the season, the Bronx Bombers delivered a subtle message Friday night that reverberated around the baseball world.

The Yankees, with Gerrit Cole looking more like the 2023 Cy Young winner than the pitcher who looked like he was throwing batting practice earlier this month, smacked around the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-2 Friday, and acted afterwards as if it was simply business as usual.

There was Cole, who had given up seven homers in his last two starts pitching his best game in a month, yielding four hits and two runs in six innings.

There was DH Ben Rice, looking like a top-5 MVP candidate by hitting his 39th home run of the season − just as Yankees manager Aaron Boone predicted in spring training − to go along with 94 RBI.

There was rookie shortstop George Lombard, hitting a homer and playing flawless defense.

And there were the Yankees, talking as if they plan to be playing deep into October, whether Judge is in uniform or on…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/