Shortly before the Yankees beat the Rockies, 3-0, on Friday night, Aaron Boone raised eyebrows with a comment on Aaron Judge, a player who entered the day with four homers in his last three games.
“The amazing part about what Aaron’s doing is I don’t even necessarily feel like he’s on fire right now or anything,” Boone said, adding a faint chuckle that acknowledged Judge’s ridiculousness. “I just feel like he’s just this good.”
Colorado got a taste of Judge’s prowess a few hours later, as MLB’s home run leader clubbed his 49th dinger off Kyle Freeland in the sixth inning. The solo shot gave Judge five homers in his last four games, seven in his last eight, 10 in his last 19, 14 in his last 25, and 45 in his last 100.
Not bad for a guy who supposedly isn’t on fire.
#AllRise and maybe just stay risen.
FORTY-NINE home runs for Aaron Judge. pic.twitter.com/Je4x6KzpBz
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024
Thursday’s jack also put Judge on a 62-homer pace – the same number he hit when he reset the American League’s single-season record during an MVP campaign in 2022.
Having already toppled Roger Maris once, Judge has a real shot at becoming just the third player in history with multiple 60-homer seasons. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa also accomplished the feat.
Judge has positioned himself for a second MVP award as well, as he is also leading the majors in RBI (119), OBP (.464) and slugging (.728). His slugging percentage is higher than the league’s .713 OPS, and he is second in average (.333).
Only Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. (.348 at the time of publication) has a higher average than Judge.
Judge wasn’t the only Yankee to take Freeland deep, as Giancarlo Stanton also homered for the second straight day. He now has 22 home runs following a bases-empty blast in the fourth inning.
The Yankees scored an additional run in the fifth when Ryan McMahon made an error on a Gleyber Torres groundball, allowing Anthony Volpe to score.
Meanwhile, Carlos Rodón twirled a strong bounce-back start after allowing four earned runs over 3.1 innings his last time out.
The lefty got back on track Friday, blanking the basement-dwelling Rockies for six innings. Rodón surrendered four hits and walked one while striking out five over 102 pitches. He also lowered his ERA to 4.16.
Rodón, Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole have now combined for 19 straight scoreless innings from Yankees starters.
With a win in the books and Judge chasing history once again, it will be interesting to see what Yankees greats of the past think of the slugger on Saturday. The Yankees are hosting the 76th Old-Timers’ Day and honoring their 2009 championship team.
Alex Rodriguez, a prolific home run hitter himself, will be a first-time attendee.
As for the Yankees’ pitching plans, Will Warren will make the fourth start of his young career. Bradley Blalock, another right-handed rookie, will pitch for Colorado.
