Aaron Judge Breaks Mark McGwire's Home Run Record As New York Routes Kansas City
It's time to make room for the 6"7 282 pound rookie right -fielder Aaron Judge of New York in the record books!
Aaron Judge might be only twenty-five years old but he's already breaking records and against Kansas City, he backed up 37-year-old veteran left-hander CC Sabathia while breaking Mark McGwire rookie home run record. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Never in baseball history has a first-year player hit more home runs than Aaron Judge, who now stands alone among the best rookie home run hitters of all time after New York's 11-3 win over the Royals at Yankee Stadium on Monday. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Judge hit two home runs to set the new single-season rookie record of 50, breaking the previous mark set by Mark McGwire in 1987. Judge lined a two-run shot the opposite way off Royals starter Jakob Junis in the third and skied a solo shot to left-center off Trevor Cahill in the seventh. Gary Sanchez followed the seventh-inning blast with a solo shot of his own, while Greg Bird connected on a two-run homer an inning before. All of that power backed starter CC Sabathia, who tossed his second straight strong start in anticipation of the postseason. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"It's incredible," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Judge. "I think we'll appreciate it more when we sit down and have a chance to think about what he did this year. He's in the conversation for the MVP. Not just the Rookie of the Year, but the MVP." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Judge may have made history, but Sabathia's performance Monday may have been even more important for a team looking ahead to the American League Wild Card Game and potentially the AL Division Series. The loss put the Royals six games back of the Twins for the second Wild Card, with six games remaining. The Twins are off Monday night. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
The Yankees will need four starters should they advance past the Wild Card Game to avoid bringing somebody back on short rest, and Sabathia is pitching well enough to be included in that group after struggling in August. He cruised through six innings Monday, holding the Royals to three singles before allowing back-to-back home runs to Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas in the seventh. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"Think about where we were in Toronto the last time -- where he was mentally, I wasn't sure," Girardi said. "But he's pitched really well since he put that knee brace on. He continues to pitch well and had another good day today." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
The win gave Sabathia 236 for his career, tying Whitey Ford for 60th on the all-time list. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"Joe told me about that after the game," Sabathia said. "I just want to keep on going." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Moustakas' homer was his 38th of the season and chased Sabathia, who improved to 13-5 after three Yankees relievers sealed the win. But before that, the veteran lefty was able to hold an early lead by striking out four and inducing plenty of soft contact over his six-plus innings. Once he tired, the Yankees' bullpen took over and the offense started scoring again. It's a recipe the club could look to replicate come October. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Rookie right-hander Jakob Junis kept the Royals in the game until the sixth inning, when Bird's two-run home run extended the lead to 6-0. Junis wasn't even too upset at giving up Judge's third-inning home run. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"I definitely didn't think it was that bad a pitch," Junis said. "A heater up and in at [93 mph]. He's just a strong guy." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
It's been a sensational finish to what will go down as one of the greatest rookie seasons ever, as Judge received a standing ovation after he was removed for a pinch-runner in the eighth. The crowd cheered in appreciation of his historic day, but it felt just as much an appreciation of his year as a whole. Judge is just the fifth Yankees player to hit 50 home runs in a season, joining Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Alex Rodriguez. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"Just getting a chance to play one game with the Yankees was quite an honor," Judge said. "To have my name with those greats is something I never dreamed of." "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
After Perez and Moustakas went back to back in the seventh to chase Sabathia, the Yankees answered with the heart of their order in the bottom half. When Judge and Sanchez went back to back off Cahill, it marked the third straight time they've been the Yankees hitters to do so this season. The two have 83 home runs, the most by Yankees teammates since Maris and Mantle combined for 115 in 1961. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
"He's so strong. There's no part of the ballpark he can't drive it out of. And it seems like he's a genuinely nice kid. He just goes out and plays baseball the right way."
-- Royals manager Ned Yost, on Judge "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
With his homers Monday, Judge has now homered against every AL team this season. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
Moustakas, who already owned the Royals' single-season home run record, tied Bob Cerv for the most ever by a Kansas City player. Cerv hit 38 for the 1958 Kansas City A's, two years after the A's acquired him from the Yankees. "according to http://m.yankees.mlb.com/news/article/256044058/historic-judge-backs-solid-cc-as-yanks-cruise/
With the win, New York improves to 87-69 and is 4.0 games back in second place behind Boston who is leading the American League East with a record of 91-65. With the loss, Kansas City drops to 76-80 in the American League Central and is now 22.0 games back of the division leader Cleveland who has a record of 98-58.
New York returns to Yankee Stadium Tuesday as they welcome Tampa Bay for a three-game series.
Left-hander Blake Snell who has a record of 4-6 with a 4.01 earn run average will get the start for Tampa Bay. Snell matched his career high by tossing seven scoreless innings in a win over the Cubs. Snell has thrown at least seven innings in three of his past six starts, compared to just once in the first 35 starts of his career. He will oppose New York left-hander Jordan Montgomery who has a record of 8-7 with a 4.06 earn run average. If the Yanks are going to use a left-handed starter in the playoffs, It'll either be Montgomery or Jaime Garcia but not both, so this is an audition of sorts for the rookie, who went 6 scoreless frames in his last start on September 16 vs the O's. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rays-vs-yankees/2017/09/26/492456#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492456
First pitch is set for 7:05 pm. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Sun and Yes. "according to https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rays-vs-yankees/2017/09/26/492456#game_state=preview,game_tab=,game=492456