Yankees' Judge slugs more than 10 home runs this month

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge made history by slamming his 30th home run earlier than any other competitor this MLB season. In an away match with the New York Mets, the Yankees' local rival, held on Thursday at Citi Field, New York, the slugger, who batted third in the lineup as the center fielder, scored a two-run shot off left-handed starting pitcher Danny Young. With no out and a runner on 1st base in the top of the 6th inning, where the Yankees were losing 0 to 7, he hit a Danny Young sweeper over the left-field wall. The pitcher even plopped down on the mound because it was obviously a perfect shot.

Following a grand slam in a match with the Mets the day right before, he slammed another home run on Thursday, proving that he is on fire. Since June began, he has scored as many as 10 home runs.

It was in the team’s 82nd game of this season when he recorded his 30th home run. Likewise, he kept the same pace two years ago when he owned the most home runs (62 home runs) in the American League. He himself is competing against his own record set just two years ago. As he recorded a base on balls on his first at bat in the 1st inning and made a left-field hit in the 4th inning as the lead-off hitter, he was 2-for-3 with 2-H, 1-RBI, and 2-R. Despite his great performance, the Yankees suffered a crushing loss 2 to 12.

Judge, the MLB’s current home run leader, kept ahead of Gunnar Henderson by four home runs. In a match with Cleveland on Thursday as well, Henderson also hit a solo home run over the center-field wall in the 5th inning, scoring his 26th home run of this season.

The same day, LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his 25th home run against the Chicago White Sox, recording RBIs for 10 consecutive games, a new record for the team. He hit a home run off Erick Fedde on his first at bat in the 1st inning. The National League’s current home run leader recorded 2-AB, 1-H, 2-BB, 1-RBI, and 2-R, contributing to the team’s victory (4 to 0).


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com