When a hitter is mentioned in the same company as Babe Ruth, it usually means good things.
That was the case Saturday afternoon for Aaron Judge, whose two-run home run in the first inning of the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Blue Jays in the Bronx tied him with the Bambino for a nearly century-old franchise record.
Judge now boasts 16 first-inning home runs this season, matching the number Ruth hit in the opening frame of his famous 60-homer campaign in 1927.
“It’s surreal any time you hear any of those greats that are all around this building, all around this stadium,” said Judge, who also hit a 477-foot first-inning homer Friday. “It’s almost kind of make believe, some of the stuff they did, so to be mentioned in any kind of category [or] sentence as those guys, it’s quite an honor.”
Only Alex Rodriguez, who hit 18 first-inning home runs with Texas in 2001, and Mark McGwire, who hit 17 with St. Louis two years earlier, struck more in a single season in MLB history.
Judge’s 426-foot blast against Toronto’s José Berríos on Saturday gave the Yankees (66-46) an early 2-1 advantage, and they led the rest of the way.
It was Judge’s MLB-leading 41st home run of the season, putting him on pace for 59. Judge had 45 home runs through the Yankees’ 112th game of 2022, when he set an American League single-season record with 62.
Judge is now hitting .425 with 29 RBI and a 1.555 OPS in the first inning. This is his first season batting behind Juan Soto, whose 90 walks lead the majors and whose .433 on-base percentage ranks second only to Judge’s .452.
“He’s working the count,” Judge said of Soto. “He’s letting me see a bunch of different pitches. He’s making the pitcher work, which helps me out when I step in the box.”
Judge finished 2-for-3 and drew two walks, including an intentional walk with the bases empty and two outs in the second inning after Toronto fell behind, 4-1. Austin Wells followed with a single but Judge did not score in the inning.
Asked if he was surprised by the early free pass, Judge replied, “I think just [with] how early it was in the game.”
“It was still pretty close at the time, so I guess with two outs there, I think they were just looking, maybe, to get an out [with] the next guy,” Judge said. “But Wells came up with the big hit, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
Judge’s home run was the first of three for the Yankees on Saturday. Trent Grisham hit a two-run home run in the second inning. Anthony Volpe delivered his fifth home run in his last 11 games as part of a three-RBI day.
Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, meanwhile, overpowered Toronto (51-60) with his four-seam fastball, using the pitch to record 13 swings and misses and to finish off six of his eight strikeouts. He allowed three runs on three hits over 5.1 innings.
Rodón’s overreliance on his fastball earlier this summer caused him to be too predictable early in games, but he repeatedly executed his four-seamer on Saturday, throwing it for 61 of his 106 pitches (58%) and maxing it out at 99.6 mph.
“I think [the fastball is] kind of opening back up after using the secondaries a little more, especially in hitter’s counts,” Rodón said. “I got some fastballs by guys today, and you could tell that the work I’ve done in the last few starts with the changeup-curveball mix that they’re getting off the fastball a little more.”
His fastball averaged 96.4 mph, up from his season average of 95.5 mph.
“As much as we’ve talked about mixing pitches and that being important for him, the fastball’s still a featured pitch for him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You can see it play even more in some situations where he’s established some secondary [pitches], so it’s a little harder to just sell out completely on it.”
The left-hander improved to 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA over his last three starts after struggling to an 0-5 record and a 9.67 ERA over his previous six.
Saturday marked the return of Gleyber Torres, who was benched during Friday’s 8-5 loss to Toronto after failing to hustle out of the batter’s box on what ended up being a 363-foot single off of the left-field wall.
Torres started at second base and batted fifth Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.
The Yankees have now won six of their last seven games and will try Sunday to win their third consecutive series. Gerrit Cole (3-2, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the Yankees for the first time since being scratched Tuesday with body fatigue. Yariel Rodríguez (1-4, 4.31 ERA) is set to start for Toronto.
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