Judge caps torrid May with another 2 HRs, 4 RBIs

Aaron Judge grew up watching San Francisco Giants games on television and in person, imagining himself launching long balls like Barry Bonds.

In his first game at Oracle Park, he did his best Bonds impression.

Judge capped a spectacular May by homering twice in his first game in San Francisco as the New York Yankees beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday night.

“I think it was rounding the bases. I kind of looked out to left field, and being out in those bleachers a couple of times, it just brought back some memories,” Judge said. “It’s a special place. Grew up a Giants fan. Loved coming to games out here. So pretty cool being on the opposite side of the field.”

Judge grew up about 100 miles away in Linden, California, and was heavily recruited in free agency by the Giants in December 2022, but he decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.

He got his first chance to step in the batter’s box in San Francisco during batting practice before the game. He felt right at home once it started despite the boos that greeted him each at-bat. He took little time to show the Giants and their fans what they missed out on when he spurned them in free agency.

“I didn’t hit any home runs in BP, so I was a little nervous,” Judge said. “Barry and a lot of those guys back in the day made it look pretty small at times.”

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.

“It’s hard to wrap your brain around what he’s doing,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He just kind of does his thing. He’s just so consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and the way he goes about it. It’s just fun to get to watch it.”

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 & Information.

Judge’s bat has helped carry the Yankees to 14 wins in their past 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 7⅓ 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.

“He’s incredible,” Stroman said about Judge. “It’s hard to put into words, but it definitely gives the whole team a little bit of momentum and motivation when he continues to keep going off. He’s definitely doing his part. So it just makes everybody else want to do more for the squad. He’s definitely locked in.”

Judge’s 20 homers this season equals Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Tino Martinez in 1997 for the most home runs 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 (August 1995) as the only players in MLB history with 14-plus homers and 12-plus doubles in a month, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“When he’s hot, he’s tough to deal with,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said about Judge. “When you throw good pitches, he fouls them off or he takes them and waits for one good pitch. You throw him a pitch he can handle, that’s what he does with it.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.