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Aaron Judge is enjoying a historic season, making his mark in the record books. On Wednesday, the New York Yankees slugger belted his 57th home run of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.
Despite driving in three runs during a ninth-inning comeback effort, the Yankees fell short, losing the game 9-7.
Aaron Judge's historic night
The home run brought Judge within striking distance of the 60-homer milestone with only four games left and also secured his 142nd RBI of the season.
He became the first player since Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard in 2009 to reach 140 RBIs in a single season. 2009 was also when the Yankees won their most recent World Series. Last year, during his 62-homer campaign, Judge recorded 131 RBIs.
These impressive statistics will bolster Judge's case for winning his second-career MVP award this offseason. Alongside his home runs and RBIs, he entered Wednesday leading the league in walks (130), on-base percentage (.459), slugging percentage (.699), OPS+ (222), total bases (383), and bWAR (10.4).
Despite Aaron Judge's historic performance, the Baltimore Orioles managed to outpace the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. The home team at Yankee Stadium faced a disastrous start when Nestor Cortes, whose October status now hangs in the balance, was scratched from Wednesday’s start due to a poorly timed left flexor strain.
His replacement, Marcus Stroman, allowed six-consecutive singles to start the game—highlighted by a crucial defensive error from left fielder Jasson Dominguez—and things only worsened from there as the Yankees squandered another opportunity to clinch the division, suffering an ugly loss to the Orioles in front of 41,010 anxious fans in The Bronx.
The Orioles being too much for the Yankees
The Orioles pummeled Stroman for 10 hits, all singles, and scored six runs in just 3¹/₃ innings during his first start since September 10 after he had been moved to the bullpen in the interim.
Not all the singles were hard hits; several were well-placed grounders, but they all contributed to a challenging evening for Stroman.
Juan Soto connected on a two-run homer in the fifth inning against Zach Eflin, narrowing the gap to 8-3. The Yankees then posed a serious threat by loading the bases with two outs. However, Jazz Chisholm Jr. flied out on the very first pitch from reliever Jacob Webb, deflating the crowd's hopes in the process.
The Yankees (92-66) entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 9-3 but made a strong push to make things exciting, highlighted by a three-run blast from Judge.
“They’re all tough,” Judge stated after hitting a home run in his fourth-consecutive game, giving him 142 RBIs on the season.
The Yankees have some internal matters to address before October arrives as they aim to secure the AL's best record and gain home-field advantage in the playoffs. This is crucial for a franchise that hasn't won a championship in 15 years.
If these teams face off again in the AL Division Series—and that feels almost certain—the young, skilled Orioles led by Gunnar Henderson will carry a distinct sense of confidence as they return to Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees hold a record of 92-66 with just one win needed to secure the AL East title. They'll have another opportunity to clinch against the Orioles on Thursday in a showdown featuring Gerrit Cole facing off against Corbin Burnes.
