Judge homers, Montgomery wins as Yankees top Braves

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NEW YORK - Aaron Judge's home run on Tuesday night left the field about as quickly as he did.

Judge dented an advertisement with a scorching homer before making an unusual early exit, Jordan Montgomery pitched efficiently against a lineup missing its brightest young star, and the New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves 9-6 Tuesday night.

"I'm surprised he didn't put a hole in the sign," teammate Luke Voit said of Judge's shot.

Montgomery, the left-handed pitcher from Sumter, picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the season. He cruised through the first five innings with a shutout before allowing a 3-run homer to Marcell Ozuna in the sixth. He threw 78 pitches over six innings, allowing three runs, four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Montgomery now has a 5.17 earned run average, having pitched 15 1/3 innings in his three starts. He has allowed 15 hits and walked three while striking out 10.

Zack Britton pitched a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save.

Atlanta scratched Ronald Acuna Jr. about 90 minutes before first pitch with a sore left wrist, and the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year will be examined in New York on Wednesday. Manager Brian Snitker said he wasn't aware of the injury until batting practice Tuesday.

"It was enough that he couldn't play, he wasn't available today," Snitker said.