NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 50th homer of the season on Sunday, connecting in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies. Then he connected for No. 51 in the seventh in a 10-3 victory.
Judge drove a 0-2 changeup from Austin Gomber into the visiting bullpen in left-center to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. It was his 18th homer in the first this season, matching Alex Rodriguez in 2001 for the major league record.
Judge joined Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth as the only players in major league history with three 50-homer seasons. He also became the first player with three 50-homer seasons in the first nine years of his career.
“A great accomplishment but there’s still more to be done,” Judge said after New York’s win. “This team’s got a big mission in front of them and we’re all focused on that right now.”
Rodriguez had a pair of 50-homer seasons for Texas in 2001 and 2002, and he hit 54 for the Yankees in 2007.
Sosa had four straight 50-homer seasons from 1998 to 2001. McGwire did the same from 1996 to 1999, including his 70-homer season in 1998. Ruth had back-to-back 50-homer seasons in 1920 and 1921 and 1927 and 1928 with the Yankees.
Ruth hit 60 homers in 1927, an AL record that stood until Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961 for the Yankees. Judge broke Maris’ single-season AL record by hitting 62 in 2022.
“We’re running out of superlatives to what we’re seeing, especially in this time where hitting is difficult,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s just fun to watch him, first of all who he is and the teammate that he is, but then just his desire and obsession with just getting a little bit better each and every year. And that’s what we’re seeing.”
Two years ago, Judge reached 50 in New York’s 129th game when he went deep in Anaheim against Angels reliever Ryan Tepera.
Judge went deep again in the seventh against rookie Jeff Criswell, in between solo homers by Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. After driving a first-pitch fastball into the seats in right, Judge took a curtain call from the crowd.
It was the Judge’s 39th career multihomer game and fifth this season. Judge missed a chance at his third career three-homer game when he grounded out to end the eighth.
The Yankees captain has seven homers in his last six games, 10 in his last 13 and 47 in his last 102. He is on pace for 63 homers. “It’s unreal,” Stanton said. “He does something special every day.”