MLB: Judge stuck on 61 homers as Yankees win but miss no-hitter

WASHINGTON -- New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge missed another chance at hitting a record-breaking 62nd home run of the Major League Baseball season on Monday but great efforts abounded around him.

Yankees pitcher Luis Severino pitched seven no-hit innings and the batters in the lineup just ahead and after Judge homered in the eighth inning to spark New York's 3-1 victory at Texas.

Judge has three more regular-season games, two on Tuesday and another on Wednesday, to try and smash his 62nd homer to shatter the American League single-season record set by Roger Maris.

Judge matched the 61-year-old mark of 61 homers set by Yankees legend Maris in 1961 with a Wednesday blast at Toronto, but hasn't hit the record breaker in four games since.

The 30-year-old American outfielder grounded out, hit into a double play, singled and struck out against the Rangers in the first game of the season-ending series for the playoff-bound Yankees.

Severino faced the minimum 21 batters through seven no-hit innings with seven strikeouts and allowed only a lone walk in the third inning to Josh Smith. In all, 63 of his 94 pitches were for strikes.

But the 28-year-old Dominican right-hander was pulled from the mound by Yankees manager Aaron Boone before the eighth inning, a move made to ensure he would be fit when the playoffs begin after his recent return from the injured list.

Yankees right-hander Miguel Castro, another Dominican, replaced Severino and, after striking out Adolis Garcia, surrendered a single to Josh Jung on a line drive to left field to end the no-hit bid.

Jung had the weakest batting average in the Texas lineup, hitting .195.

There were homers all around leadoff batter Judge even as he failed to connect on a record-setter.

Marwin Gonzalez smashed his sixth homer of the season, a solo blast, to start the eighth inning and give the Yankees a 2-0 lead just before Judge walked to the plate.

Rangers right-hander Jonathan Hernandez then struck out Judge but moments later issued Giancarlo Stanton a pitch the Yankees slugger smacked for his 30th homer of the season to make it 3-0.

The Maris mark had served as the MLB record until beaten several times in the 1990s by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire during baseball's notorious steroid era.

Barry Bonds, implicated in the infamous BALCO drug scandal, set MLB's single-season record of 73 homers in 2001.

Boone has said Judge's efforts this season rank above those of Sosa, McGwire and Bonds. Judge, however, said the achievements of those National League stars deserve to be recognized as the proper records.

Agence France-Presse

Judge, Bellinger win top rookie awards

LOS ANGELES -- New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger were named Major League Baseball's 2017 rookies of the year on Monday.

Judge, 25, became the first Yankee player since Derek Jeter in 1996 to pick up the American League award after a dazzling debut season.

Judge blasted 52 home runs during the regular season, breaking Mark McGwire's rookie record of 49 homers in the process.

His tally also surpassed Babe Ruth's Yankees record for home runs in a season.

As well as his home run exploits, Judge made 128 runs and 114 RBIs. The Yankees star also won the Home Run Derby in Miami in July.

Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox finished second on the voting, with Baltimore's Trey Mancini third.

In the National League, Bellinger was also a unanimous pick in the awards voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Bellinger, 22, smacked 39 home runs in his debut season for the Dodgers, who lost in game seven of the World Series to the Houston Astros earlier this month.

Bellinger set an unwanted record in the postseason with 28 strikeouts, including 17 in the World Series.

Paul DeJong of the St. Louis Cardinals was second in the voting with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Bell third.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Baseball: Judge delivers again as Yankees get the verdict

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge delivered once again with a home run that paved the way for a come-from-behind 6-4 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday, squaring their best-of-seven American League Championship Series at 2-2.

With the Yankees trailing 4-0 in the seventh inning, the 6-foot-7 slugger sent a towering solo home run more than 400 feet over centerfield.


That one mighty hit from Judge, who hit a three-run homer and made two outstanding catches in Monday's 8-1 win over the Astros, ignited a subdued Yankee Stadium crowd and seemed to give the team belief.

The 25-year-old delivered an encore by tying the game with a double in the eighth before the Yankees went on to take the victory and even the series.

"It's pretty surreal to be honest," Judge told reporters.

"I've been in that situation in my head a thousand times, game on the line, but the dream's not the same as reality, being out there with that crowd and that atmosphere."

The California native has taken New York by storm, breaking the Major League Baseball record for home runs in a season by a rookie (52).

His 33 homers at home also eclipsed Babe Ruth's record for home runs by a Yankee at Yankee Stadium.

Judge is favorite to win the league Rookie of the Year award, and is also rated by some experts as a contender for most valuable player honors.

"I felt Aaron's home run lit a little spark," New York manager Joe Girardi told reporters. "That was a huge at-bat by Aaron to get us in that situation.

"I'm caught up in it (the excitement) like everyone else, anticipating he's gong to do something great because we've seen it so many times this year.

"It was (a) special (atmosphere) again tonight. Every home game has been special. I feel the fans are back."

The series continues with Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, when Houston will send their number one starter Dallas Keuchel to the mound, while the Yankees will start Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Baseball: Judge gets Yankees back in ALCS in 8-1 rout

Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer and made two outstanding catches in right field as the New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros, 8-1, in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday.

The Astros lead the series, 2-1, heading into Game 4 on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.


Judge ensured Houston would not be going for the sweep by producing one of his best games of the postseason. He drew a walk in the third inning off Charlie Morton (0-1) and homered off Will Harris to highlight a five-run fourth.

In between plate appearances, Judge made a leaping catch at the base of the right field wall in the fourth to rob Yuli Gurriel of at least an extra-base hit and possibly a homer.

After homering, Judge raced in to make a diving catch on Cameron Maybin for the first out of the fifth.

Todd Frazier hit a three-run homer, Chase Headley had a run-scoring infield single and Frazier scored on a wild pitch as the Yankees snapped a seven-game losing streak in the ALCS.

CC Sabathia (1-0) allowed three hits in six scoreless innings and improved to 10-0 this season following a New York loss.

Morton allowed seven runs and six hits in 3-2/3 innings.

Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were a combined 1-for-8, though Houston scored their lone run on a bases-loaded walk by Alex Bregman in the ninth.

In the second inning, following an infield single by Starlin Castro and a base hit by Aaron Hicks, Frazier hit a 2-2 fastball well into the right field seats.

The Astros threatened with two outs in the third by loading the bases on two walks and a single. Sabathia only needed two pitches to retire Correa on a soft popup.

Judge then made his leap in the fourth to catch Gurriel's fly ball.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Yankees' Judge homing in on history

NEW YORK - Aaron Judge belted his major league-leading 30th home run on Friday to surpass New York Yankees icon Joe DiMaggio's club record for homers hit by a rookie.

The 25-year-old sensation led off the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium with a solo blast off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader.

He sent the changeup from Hader an estimated 432 feet to put the Yankees up 4-2.

It marked Judge's third straight game with a homer. He had tied DiMaggio's 1936 total of 29 home runs in a 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Judge is only the second rookie to reach 30 home runs before the All Star break.

Mark McGwire had 33 at the break in 1987 on the way to establishing the major league rookie record of 49 homers in a season.

Judge's effort came in a disappointing 9-4 loss to the Brewers.

Milwaukee's Jesus Aguilar hit a tiebreaking grand slam with two outs in the top of the seventh and tied a Milwaukee record with seven runs-batted-in for the Brewers.

Milwaukee's five runs in the seventh proved enough for the victory.

source: news.abs-cbn.com