BOSTON — Aaron Judge continued solidifying his place among the Yankees’ greats on Friday, cracking his 362nd career home run to break a tie with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio and take sole possession of fourth place on the franchise’s home run list during a 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Judge reached 362 homers in his 1,130th game. DiMaggio played 1,736 games and hit his last homer on Sept. 28, 1951, at the end of a 13-year career that was interrupted for three seasons because he served in World War II. Babe Ruth (659 home runs), Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) are the only players to hit more home runs than Judge as a Yankee.
“It’s special,” Judge said. “But all those guys in front of me and on those lists, they weren’t playing for records; they were playing to win. So I’m just trying to follow in their footsteps. I’m here to win, and I’m trying to help put this team in the best position every single night.”
Judge quickly helped on Friday. A day after he tied DiMaggio at Yankee Stadium, Judge crushed the second pitch he saw from Lucas Giolito 468 feet over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead two batters into the game.
The homer was Judge’s 47th of the season and the 19th he has hit in the first inning, breaking the record Alex Rodriguez first set in 2001 and Judge tied last season. The two-time American League MVP — an odds-on favorite to win the award for the third time in four years — has swatted four home runs in four games after going six games without one.
“I feel like he’s getting on time good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s finishing his move so he’s getting into really strong hitting position. … And I feel like he’s gotten a lot of Aaron Judge-type swings off. Really controlling the strike zone while doing it. So yeah, he looks good to me. These last several days, I feel like he’s really started to get locked in.”
Judge was the Yankees’ designated hitter Friday as the team continued to cautiously rotate him between the outfield and DH to avoid aggravating the flexor strain in his right arm. It was his 30th start at DH since coming off the injured list Aug. 5.
“It’s a little different,” Judge said. “But I’m getting my laps underneath the stadium, going back and forth to the cage, running in the cage, running back and forth to the weight room. So I’ve talked to quite a few guys that have DH’d a little bit and kind of their routine, what works for them. Kind of pick and choose some things that work and kind of make your own routine.”
Judge has made four starts in right field since being activated from the injured list. Boone acknowledged that the club is considering having Judge play left field against the Red Sox either Saturday or Sunday because right field at Fenway Park is significantly larger than left field and that could require Judge to make longer, riskier throws.
