Aaron Judge continued his scintillating form as he blasted his 51st home run of the season in the New York Yankees’ 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Judge’s fourth-inning homer on Tuesday was his fifth in the last eight games and takes him within 10 of Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League record for home runs in a single season.
The 378-foot drive helped end the Yankees’ three-game losing skid and keeps Judge on track to surpass 60 home runs for the season.
According to the MLB, he is already in an elite group of five Yankees to hit 50 or more home runs in a single season, alongside Maris, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez and Mickey Mantle.
Andrew Benintendi and Anthony Rizzo also hit homers against the Angels, but the Yankees’ night was dampened by Jameson Taillon’s exit from the field after he was hit by a comebacker and suffered a right forearm contusion.
Taillon’s scans showed no signs of a fracture, the Yankees confirmed, and the pitcher later paid tribute to Judge’s hitting this season.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Taillon said. “It just feels like any time he’s out there, he’s got a chance to do something special.
“It doesn’t matter what scouting report you have or whether you execute your pitch or not. He’s just so good that you can make a good pitch and he can still hit it out of the park. It’s special.”
The Yankees conclude their series against the Angels on Wednesday night in Anaheim.