Bromx, NY—-Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 49th home run of the season on Friday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Judge, who homered for the fourth consecutive game, launched a 388-foot shot to left-center off Kyle Freeland (3-6) in the sixth inning. In his earlier at-bats, he grounded into a double play and lined out.
As a crowd of 38,910 chanted “M-V-P! M-V-P!”, Judge popped out to third base in his final at-bat in the eighth inning.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I get asked about it all the time, not just in these pressers, but by people coming up to you. I’m kind of running out of words to say. You’re witnessing greatness. He’s just better than everyone.”
Judge has now hit eight home runs in his last 11 games and 17 in his last 34 games. He is one home run away from becoming just the fifth player in history to record three 50-homer seasons. Babe Ruth is the only other Yankees player with three 50-homer seasons for the team.
With an OPS of 1.192, Judge joins elite company; since World War II, only five players have posted a higher OPS over a full season — Barry Bonds (four times), Ted Williams and Mark McGwire (twice each), and Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell (once each).
“It’s not real, I try not to think about it,” Judge said with a smile. “Even when they mention the Yankees greats — Mantle, DiMaggio, Maris, Ruth — it’s tough to comprehend or even think about.”
Judge is on pace to match his 62 home runs from 2022 when he broke Roger Maris’s American League record set in 1961.
“He’s done it before, so we can’t be surprised,” teammate Giancarlo Stanton said. “And we’ve got plenty of time for him to do even more impressive things.”
Since his batting average dipped to .197 on May 2, Judge has been on a tear, hitting .381 with 43 home runs and 101 RBIs in 94 games.
Stanton also contributed to the Yankees’ scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning. The Yankees improved to 11-0 this season when both Judge and Stanton homer in the same game and 42-4 all-time, including the playoffs.
“Those are the kind of guys you want to be facing,” Freeland said. “Facing Judge, Stanton, and Soto — three of the top four guys in their lineup who are just savages. It’s fun to battle with them, but you have to be aware that any mistake can be taken deep.”
Carlos Rodón (14-8) tied for the major league lead in wins after striking out five in six innings of four-hit ball. Rodón, along with Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, has combined to pitch 19 consecutive scoreless innings in the Yankees’ last three games.
“We’re almost competing against each other,” Rodón said. “Just keep throwing up those zeroes. You don’t want to be the guy that gives up the run.”
Luke Weaver and Jake Cousins each pitched a hitless inning, and Clay Holmes earned his 27th save despite allowing a leadoff walk to Ryan McMahon.
Freeland allowed three runs (two earned) over 6 2/3 innings for the Rockies, who have now secured their sixth straight losing season, tying the franchise record set from 2001-06 and matched from 2011-16.
“He gave us a chance to win,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We just couldn’t solve their pitching.”
The Yankees activated Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the 10-day injured list on Friday after he was sidelined with a sprained left elbow. He went hitless in three at-bats with one strikeout.
UP NEXT:
The three-game interleague series continues on Saturday, with New York RHP Will Warren (0-1, 8.59 ERA) set to face Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (0-0, 2.92 ERA) in a rookie matchup following the Yankees’ Old-Timers Day festivities.
