Judge caps torrid May with another 2 HRs, 4 RBIs
SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge capped a spectacular May by homering twice in his first game in San Francisco and the New York Yankees beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday night.
Judge grew up about 100 miles away in Linden and was heavily recruited in free agency by the Giants in December 2022, but decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.
He was greeted by boos in each at-bat Friday night, but took little time to show the Giants and their fans what they missed out on when he spurned them in free agency.
After hitting a single in the first inning, Judge launched a three-run shot to left field in the third against Jordan Hicks (4-2) and then another solo shot in the sixth to give him a major league-leading 20 homers.
Most of that damage has come in May with Judge hitting 14 homers and 12 doubles with 27 RBIs. His 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankees player in a month since Joe DiMaggio had 31 in July 1937 and this is just the eighth time since the end of World War II that any player in the majors had that many extra-base hits in any month.
He is also the first player in MLB history to reach 35 career multi-homer games in fewer than 1,000 career games, according to ESPN Stats and Information research.
Judge’s bat has helped carry the Yankees to 14 wins in their last 18 games, as they have become the fourth team ever to reach 40 wins before June 1.
He provided more than enough support for Marcus Stroman (5-2), who allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings to get the win. The Yankees tied a franchise record set in 1981 with their 18th straight start with a pitcher going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer.
Judge now leads the majors with 20 homers this season, a tally that equals Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Tino Martinez in 1997 for the most homers in Yankees history before June.
That is also quite a change from the start of the month, when Judge had a .207 average in March and April along with plenty of questions about the slow start.
While everyone else might have been worried, Judge maintained an even keel.
“Can’t sit there feeling sorry for yourself when things aren’t going right. Still have games to play and win. Just try to stay consistent and help the team win,” he said after Thursday night’s 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. “I feel like every season I have one of those months where things just aren’t going your way. It was tough that it had to be April in the beginning, especially with the type of team we have and how good we are.”
Among his feats, he joins Albert Belle (Aug. 1995) as the only players in MLB history with 14-plus homers and 12-plus doubles in a month, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this story.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.
TOKYO — Shortstop Mookie Betts will miss the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ two exhibition games in Japan because of an illness, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday.
Roberts said he’s still hopeful that the eight-time All-Star will be available for the team’s first regular season game against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome. The Dodgers are playing the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers — two teams from Japan — in exhibition games on Saturday and Sunday.
Roberts said the 32-year-old Betts started to feel flu-like symptoms during the team’s final day in Arizona, but team doctors said he was OK to make the long trip to Japan.
“Mookie is here today, but he’s been really sick,” Roberts said. “Lost some weight, so we’re trying to get him hydrated. He’s going to work out a little today, but he won’t be playing either tonight or tomorrow.
“Then when we have our off day, our workout day, we’ll see how he is.”
Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop this season after playing most of his career in right field and second base. The 2018 AL MVP hit .289 with 19 homers and 75 RBI last season, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.
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