The New York Yankees have had an excellent season so far, and it continued with a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox Sunday. The Bronx Bombers maintained their three-game division lead over the Baltimore Orioles, and they won the series over their rivals from Boston three games to one. Captain Aaron Judge hit his 53rd home run, the best mark in the MLB right now. Today's round tripper was on the heels of Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello trying to hit Judge while the Sox led 7-1 in the 7th inning of their win over the Yankees yesterday. Judge discussed being hit by the pitch and his response.
“Aaron Judge on being thrown at by the Red Sox: ‘You play this game for a while, things like that happen. … So, I think the biggest thing is, just don't miss when you do it,'” reported MLB.com's Bryan Hoch after Sunday's game on X, formerly Twitter.
Opponents throwing at Judge is not surprising, especially when it comes to the Red Sox. Nevertheless, Judge had the last laugh on multiple occasions throughout the series. After a slump earlier this month, it seems as if the Yankees outfielder is rounding back into form. He's currently the front-runner for AL MVP and could potentially break his AL record for home runs. The captain's performance has helped to propel his team into their current first place standing in the AL East. Can he keep it up going into October?
Aaron Judge, Yankees get closer to NL East title win
With 12 games left on their schedule, the Yankees maintain their advantage over the Orioles with Sunday's win. Their toughest remaining series is against the Orioles at home September 24-26. The rest of their matchups are easier, with a West Coast road trip to Seattle and Oakland starting September 17th and a season-ending set at home versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.
New York is looking to lock in the AL East title, so the remaining schedule is very favorable to them. Judge is starting to heat up again, and prized prospect Jasson Dominguez is now with the major league roster as well. It feels as if the Yankees are starting to load up for a title run, and they are experimenting with different ways to make the club better. One option? Moving to a six-man rotation for the remainder of the season to keep their starters fresh.
The team's depth is starting to emerge as well, and they are getting players back from long stints on the IL. If the team can come together and play cohesively, they will be a very tough out in October. Who knows? If everything breaks their way, then the Yankees could very well capture their 28th World Series title by the end of next month.