Aaron Judge’s spectacular offensive night propelled the Yankees to a 5–4 Tuesday night win over the Baltimore Orioles — including 2 home runs and an RBI double.
Judge began the game with a double to deep left field to score DJ LeMahieu after he was hit by a pitch from Baltimore’s Spenser Watkins during the first at bat of the contest.
According to MLB Stats, Judge’s double would have been a home run in any of the other 29 MLB stadiums in the country — but Baltimore’s 384-foot left field fence kept the ball in play.
Judge would make sure the deep field wasn’t an issue on his next 2 at bats, when he sent a 91 mph Watkins fastball over the right field fence for a solo shot in the 3rd inning, followed by his 2nd long ball of the game off a Joey Krehbiel slider to center in the 5th inning.
A single in the top of the 8th inning gave Judge his 3rd career game with 4 hits.
The two homers was the slugger’s league-leading 14th long ball of the season. He is now 3 ahead of the second-place Twins slugger Byron Buxton and Astors DH Yordan Álvarez, who have each hit 11.
For more coverage of Aaron Judge and the Yankees, head to amNY.com.
Fellow Yankees Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo round out the MLB’s top 5 most prolific home run hitters with 10 each.
Meanwhile, the Yanks’ only 2 non-Judge-related runs came from a fielder’s choice in the 6th, and a Josh Donaldson double that saw him cross the plate on a series of Baltimore errors.
Jameson Taillon got the win on the mound for the Yankees, after he threw 5 innings — giving up 6 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 2 opposing batters.
Michael Kings and Aroldis Chapman took over after Tallion, and held Baltimore to just 1 run for the reminder of the contest.
Baltimore did attempt a comeback with a 3-hit 9th inning, but Chapman managed to get the team out of the inning to secure the win.
The Bronx Bombers’ victory comes after a 6–2 series opening win against Baltimore on Monday night.
The two teams will face off again on Wednesday night at Camden Yards, when Gerritt Cole is slated to get the nod on the mound.
The Pinstripes move to a league-best 27–9 record, and take a 5.5 game lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
