SPORTS
Aaron Judge Hits 50th and 51st Homers, Leading Yankees to Victory
Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ powerhouse slugger, reached yet another milestone as he smashed his 50th and 51st home runs of the season in a 10-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Judge’s first blast came in the opening inning when he launched a 0-2 changeup from Austin Gomber into the bullpen, giving the Yankees an early lead. This marked his 18th first-inning homer of the season, tying Alex Rodriguez’s record from 2001.
The Yankees captain continued his power display in the seventh inning with a second homer off rookie Jeff Criswell. With this feat, Judge joined the elite company of Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Babe Ruth as the only players in MLB history to achieve three 50-homer seasons. Remarkably, Judge is the first to do so within the first nine years of his career.
“We’re running out of superlatives to describe what we’re seeing, especially in this time where hitting is difficult,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It’s just fun to watch him, not only because of who he is as a teammate but also because of his relentless desire to improve every year.”
Judge’s latest homers highlight a hot streak, with seven homers in his last six games and ten in his last 13. The slugger is now on pace for an incredible 63 homers this season. “It’s unreal,” remarked teammate Giancarlo Stanton. “He does something special every day.”