Yankees slugger judge arrives in Toronto to make MLB history

Liam adam2022-09-26

Delayed by the rain on Sunday evening, Aaron Judge continues his hunt for the record on the road.

Judge remained at 60 home runs, one shy of Roger Maris’ American League mark, when the New York Yankees’ 2-0 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox was tie after six innings due to heavy rain.

The big hitter went 1 for 2 with a double and was then scheduled to play for the Yankees when play was stopped. The match was called off after a delay of 98 minutes, sending Judge to Toronto still in pursuit of Maris.

But the four-time star player insisted he wasn’t disappointed he wasn’t able to move up to 61st in New York’s 6-0 home game.

« You can’t think that way, » Judge said. « It’s not our last home game, so I’m not worried. »

The No. 60 ties the Sultan of Swat for 2nd place all-time in American League history! @TheJudge44 a href= »https://t.co/DNwFXsJFMC »>pic.twitter.com/DNwFXsJFMC
—@Yankees

New York has won seven straight and can clinch the AL East title with a victory over the Blue Jays on Monday. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET.

The judge expects his parents to follow him to Toronto and be there again.

For #BlueJays, it is now WC seeding. They are 2.0 games ahead of TB for the best AL WC. SEA 2.5 return.
TB, TOR: 9G on the left. SEA: 10G left. But both TB & SEA have a decisive advantage > TOR
For example: if the Rays are 5-4, the Jays need to be at least 4-5 to stay ahead. If SEA goes 6-4, Jays must go 4-5
—@bnicholsonsmith

« Oh, yeah. I hope so. They’re retired. They don’t have nothing to do. So they better be here, » he said.

Judge, who is on course to hit 63.9 homers, has gone five games without breaking the fence. Since connecting for No. 60 Tuesday night against Pittsburgh to spark a ninth-inning comeback, he’s 4 for 15 with three doubles, six walks and six strikeouts.

Judge meets with fans Mike Lanzillotta and Derek Rodriguez, 9, before a game May 4 in Toronto. A video of Rodriguez getting emotional after receiving a home run from Judge Lanzillotta during the previous night’s contest at Rogers Center has gone viral on social media. (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The closest he’s come to tying Maris’ mark in 1961 was a 404-foot drive taken just outside the center field fence on Thursday.

The Yankees, who have 10 games left in the regular season, return home for three games against Baltimore this weekend before wrapping up the regular season in Texas.

On Sunday, Judge started at the designated hitter position for the 22nd time this season and the first since a two-game doubleheader on Sept. 7 against Minnesota.

He hasn’t left the starting lineup since July 12 and Yankees manager Aaron Boone hasn’t ruled out resting the 30-year-old slugger while he pursues Maris.

« I’m just playing day to day, » Boone said. « Hopefully we can get to a point where we have a few days to decide what makes the most sense and how to rest it where we can. »