Giancarlo Stanton continues to win the hearts of Yankees fans. The monster masher needed just a single to score fellow MLBbro Aaron Judge for a 4-3,11-inning win that kept them 6 ½ games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
From starting in his third career All-Star Game to showing up on baseball’s biggest stages this season, Aaron Judge has done everything in his power to prove he belongs in the conversation for the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award.
If it wasn’t for Tim Anderson’s walk-off home run into an Iowa cornfield this past Thursday, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would have been the topic of conversation after Major League Baseball’s first ever “Field of Dreams” game — which saw four home runs hit by MLBbros.
Judge invigorated the Yankees dugout after hitting his second home run of the game, a two-run shot that cut the White Sox lead to 7-6 before Giancarlo Stanton’s homer later that inning would give them the lead.
Then came this past Saturday night: If you have been living under a rock, you should know that the White Sox now run the Windy City, and with the team on the North side in rebuild mode, they have become the city’s main attraction.
Fans have packed the park in almost every game since the All-Star break.
That made for a hostile environment in the second game of the series between the Yankees and Sox, but it didn’t phase the unflappably Judge showed who came up colossal once again.
He smoked an 8th-inning fastball 114 MPH over the center field wall for a go-ahead homer in a game the Bronx Bombers would win in extras.
That made three home runs in two games for Judge, who ended the weekend by showing off his batter’s yes, also drawing three walks and swiping a bag.
The Yankees have failed to meet lofty expectations this season, but it isn’t Judge’s fault.
The 2018 AL Rookie of The Year has hit 26 home runs, driven in 63 runs, has a .289 batting average and an OPS of .902.
In a season where injuries and COVID issues have ravaged the Yankees, Judge has been the main constant on the field and deserves some respect.
Just a little over five years ago to today, Judge along with teammate Tyler Austin hit back-to-back home runs in their first Major League at bats.
OTD in 2016, Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge became the first set of teammates in MLB history to hit a home run back-to-back in their first Major League at bats pic.twitter.com/FEYBkwoLev
Since then, Judge hasn’t lacked in power or in the ability to give Yankee fans a show.
Among MLB outfielders, Judge is tied for first in home runs, sits third in OPS and slugging percentage, fifth in batting average and second in WAR behind 20/20 club member Cedric Mullins.
After many thought this would turn out to be a wasted season in the Empire State, the Yankees have stormed back in the standings over the last month as they are now just 5.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the American League East and just 2.5 games back of a spot in the Wild Card play in game.
Over the last month Judge is batting .286 with nine home runs, 23 RBI and 18 runs scored.
Judge will get to continue his MVP campaign as well as cut into the Red Sox lead in the AL East standings as they are scheduled to clash three times this week.
The MLBbros were out in full force in Colorado this week and we got a chance to speak with the best Black and Brown players in MLB. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge describes why the All-Star Game still gives him thrills.
Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are the keys to the Yankees entertaining any playoff hopes.
After losing 13 of their previous 18 games, the Yankees are 7-2 in their last 9, and have won three consecutive series; knocking off Toronto, Oakland, and with their 8-1 win on Thursday, the Kansas City Royals.
For New York, it’s the team’s most successful run since the Yankees won seven straight series from April 30 through May 23, going 17-5. At that point, New York was 11 games over .500 and just a half-game out of first place in the American League East.
This most recent stretch of success has brought the Yankees into a range of the leaders in the race for both the division and the Wild Card; trailing Boston by four and fellow division rival Tampa Bay by 3.5 games respectively.
Steering the Yankees back into the right direction has been the team’s towering titans. Over this nine-game run, they’ve hit a combined .292, with two home runs, eight RBI, nine runs scored, and sixteen walks.
They’ve been even better over their last six games.
Both bashers are hitting .333, with Judge leading the team in hits (8) and runs scored (6), and Stanton setting the pace with eight walks. Stanton’s 28 walks this season are more than his total of 27 over the past two seasons.
What’s been even more important is that they’ve been able to be productive without generating a lot of power.
The duo has combined for only two home runs and two doubles during these nine games, and yet they’ve still managed to account for nearly 20 percent of the Yankees’ runs and RBI.
Thursday, Judge went 3-3, scoring three runs, with two RBI, two walks, and he hit his 16th homer of the season. It was his first three-hit game since May 1. New York improved to 10-3 when he goes yard. It’s been documented just how important his power is to the Yankees offense, and if it’s returning, that’s a fantastic sign for his team.
Aaron Judge breaks out of a little slump to put the Yankees ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a home run! pic.twitter.com/lCSJYKBwyH
“[I’m] feeling good,” Judge said to reporters after the game. “Making a couple of adjustments to get my body in a better position to swing. I’ve kind of been feeling like I’ve been swinging underwater. But I was seeing the ball well.”
When Judge is seeing the ball well, it’s usually flying off of his bat. That was the case against KC. His RBI single in the second inning was moving at a cool 109.3 miles per hour.
Stanton was 3-5, and his single in the eighth inning drove in Judge, helping him stay one behind number 99 for the team’s RBI lead.
Giancarlo is hitting .304 in June, by far his best month of the season, with four home runs and 13 RBI. He’s raised his season average from .259 to .271 with five multi-hit games.
His plate discipline has been a big surprise, with Stanton earning 13 walks with just 13 strikeouts. In April and May, he had 15 walks and 48 strikeouts.
With Gary Sanchez and DJ LaMahieu both starting to heat up, and the return of Luke Voit, the Yankees may finally be finding their footing.
But regardless of what the other seven people in the lineup do on a nightly basis, the eyes of New York will remain on the two Bronx Behemoths. As they go, so go the Yankees’ chances.
