Ben Rice, Aaron Judge homer as Yankees complete sweep of Royals – Troy Record

After a long rain delay, the Bronx Bombers were ready to go.

The Yankees mashed three homers en route to a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep. Aaron Judge (first inning two-run shot), Ben Rice (solo blast in the second) and Trent Grisham (three-run homer in the fifth) ignited the Bombers’ offense to a stress-free victory.

For Judge, his tone-setting shot to center field was his MLB-leading 9th of the season. The captain was 1-for-5 on the afternoon, however, he appears to be in the midst of a power surge with his fifth homer in the past seven games.

Speaking of surges, Rice appears to be emerging as the Yankees’ next star. The 27-year-old cranked his 8th homer of the season — off of left-handed starter Cole Ragans as well — and is immediately putting all conversations of a platoon player to rest. The first baseman has undoubtedly been one of the best hitters in baseball this season as he’s slashing .338/.476/.800

The Yanks’ offense provided plenty of run support for Ryan Weathers, who put forth his best outing in pinstripes. Weathers tossed 7.1 shutout innings allowing five hits, one walk while striking out eight. The southpaw lowered his season ERA to 3.18.

Angel Chivilli finished off the game for the Yanks, tossing 1.2 shutout innings to secure the victory.

The Yanks will enter their off-day on Monday tied for first place in the American League East. They will head to Boston on Tuesday for their first look at the Red Sox this season to begin a three-game series at Fenway Park.

The Sox have been off to a dreadful start this season as they are 8-12, playing a very ugly brand of baseball. Luis Gil will take the mound Tuesday against Connelly Early for Alex Cora’s squad.