Aaron Judge hit two home runs and drove in three runs, while Juan Soto hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in five runs to lead the New York Yankees to an 8-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night.
Judge’s home runs included a two-run shot in the third inning and a solo homer in the seventh, bringing his major league-leading total to 47. He has hit six homers in his last nine games, 12 in his last 23 games, and is on track to hit 60 home runs this season.
Judge became only the third player in Yankees history to hit 47 home runs in the first 127 games of a season, joining Babe Ruth and Roger Maris. Ruth had 51 homers in 1921 and Maris had 50 in 1961, finishing with 61 to break Ruth’s single-season record.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Judge’s consistent improvement. “He just kind of keeps getting a little bit better all the time,” Boone said. “That’s what greatness is. You’re never kind of satisfied with who you are.”
Judge had his fourth multi-home run game of the season and his 38th career multi-home run game.
Soto hit his career-high 36th homer off rookie Joey Cantillo’s sixth pitch, sending the ball onto the netting above Monument Park. Soto’s homer was his eighth in nine games, a streak that started on August 11 and includes a three-homer game last week against the White Sox.
Judge and Soto homered in the same game for the second consecutive game and the 11th time overall. The Yankees are 9-2 this season when both players hit home runs in the same game.
