Aaron Judge hit his 53rd home run of the season, leading the New York Yankees to a 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. This win gave the Yankees a three-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
Judge, who also leads the majors with 132 RBIs, hit two home runs in three games after a career-high 16-game stretch without a home run. His performance helped Carlos Rodón achieve his best-ever 15th win.
The Yankees (87-63) won three out of four games against the Red Sox and will now head out for a seven-game road trip to Seattle and Oakland. They are close to securing a postseason spot after missing the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016.
Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer for the Red Sox (75-75), who fell 4 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins (79-70) for the final AL wild card spot.
On Roberto Clemente Day, Judge, wearing No. 21, hit a two-run homer in the third inning off Kutter Crawford (8-15) on a fastball. The 445-foot shot landed on the netting above Monument Park, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead.
Judge, who was targeted by Brayan Bello in Saturday’s game, carried his bat halfway down the line before dropping it as he approached first base.
“This is a big rivalry, big games, big moments, so I’m just enjoying it,” Judge said.
Judge’s home run count puts him in the company of Babe Ruth (1921, 1927), Roger Maris (1961), and Mickey Mantle (1961) as Yankees with at least 53 homers through the team’s first 150 games.
“It’s been an amazing season,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That ball he hit today was crushed.”
Rodón added, “For him, it’s pretty normal. Not many players can hit a ball out to center like that.”
