(Toronto) Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit his 61e homer of the season and tied the American record, set by Roger Maris in 1961, on Wednesday night in an 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Posted at 11:36 a.m.
Judge, who was the designated hitter in the series finale against Team Canada, sent the ball over the fence in the seventh inning.
His two-run slap to left field, which landed in the bullpen, gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead. He waved his fist just before reaching first base and slapped first base coach Travis Chapman’s hand.
“I was hoping she would go over the fence. I wasn’t sure at first. I didn’t want to be at home plate yet when she hit the wall, Judge said. It is an extraordinary honor. The emotions were strong. It took me a little longer than I would have liked. »
The ball was picked up by Blue Jays coach Matt Buschmann, who turned it over to the Yankees.
Judge’s mother, Patty, and Roger Maris Jr. hugged each other in the stands. Judge seemed to point in their direction after rounding the second base.
“I’m nothing without my family,” Judge said. It’s special to be able to share this moment with my mother and to have been able to do so in the presence of Roger Maris Jr. »
Judge was congratulated by all of his teammates at the Yankees, who welcomed him after he touched home plate.
” I did not expect that. It was pretty good,” Judge said.
Judge surpassed Babe Ruth’s 60 home run mark in 1927, a Major League record that stood until Maris’ feat in 1961. All three stars accomplished the feat as members of the Yankees.
However, it is Barry Bonds who holds the MLB record. He hit 73 homers for the San Francisco Giants in 2001.
Judge opened the scoring when he crossed home plate first on a Josh Donaldson single. Oswald Peraza and Marwin Gonzalez each hit a first-run single that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead from the start.
The Blue Jays offense replied in the sixth. After a solo homer from Danny Jensen into left field, Bo Bichette allowed Whit Merrifield to cut the lead in half. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s sacrifice ball then allowed the Blue Jays to tie the game.
In the seventh, Judge came to the plate having not homered in his last seven games – his longest drought this season was nine games.
Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza (8-1) knew immediately that his pitch had led to a historic strike. He lowered his arms in discouragement.
“I felt like with the trajectory and the hitting force of the ball, it had a good chance of going out (outside the court),” Mayza confessed.
“I wanted to attack him with drop balls and force him to put the ball on the ground, especially with a runner on first base. It was a very nice shot. I made a mistake, and he took advantage of it. So kudos to him. He has my congratulations. I just threw one too many against a very good hitter. »
The home run was made on his fourth appearance at the plate of the game, ending a streak of 34 appearances without home runs.
After Judge’s two-run homer, Harrison Bader sent another runner home and the Yankees regained their three-run priority.
Aaron Boone’s men extended their lead with two more points in the ninth.
The record within reach for Judge
Judge, a six-foot-seven slugger, has seven games to go to pass Maris and take the single-handed lead in home runs in American history.
The New York club will have the day off Thursday before hosting the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series. The Yankees will close out the regular season with a four-game series against the Rangers at Texas.
The 30-year-old Judge also has a good chance of winning the American Triple Crown. In addition to leading for homers, he batted .314 and drove in 130 runs.
The last player to achieve the feat was Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in 2012.
With contribution from The Associated Press