Aaron Judge had taken a different route on that fateful June fly ball, a play that sent the reigning American League MVP to the injured list while changing the course of the Yankees’ season.
It’s a safe bet that Judge and the Yankees would have had a few more special nights like this one to celebrate. Judge slammed three home runs Friday evening in the 7-1 win over the D-backs at Yankee Stadium, receiving a curtain call after becoming the first player in franchise history to collect a pair of three-homer games in a season.
“It was great,” Judge said. “Anytime Yankees fans want to show some love and show some appreciation, I love it. That was a pretty cool moment right there.”
Judge hit a three-run homer in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth off rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt. The slugger added his third homer of the night by reaching the second deck in right field with a solo drive off Slade Cecconi.
“Greatness doing special things,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Those are things that, kind of the crazy things that happen, but it’s just a special player. Not surprising that he’s on that list.”
Friday’s loss snapped the Diamondbacks’ five-game winning streak and shrunk their lead in the second NL Wild Card spot to one game over the Chicago Cubs, which beat the Colorado Rockies.
Judge hit a three-run shot in the third inning and a two-run drive in the fifth off rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt (2-9). The slugger got his third homer with a solo drive off Slade Cecconi in the seventh.
It was the second career three-homer game for Judge — both in the past month. He also went deep three times on Aug. 23 at home against Washington to help New York break its first nine-game losing streak since 1982.
Almost a month ago to the day, Judge pulled off the same feat against the Washington Nationals. He hit three home runs in a single game for the first time in his career and matched his career-high of six RBI in the outing.
While Judge’s performance is undoubtedly impressive, it’s likely not going to matter for the Yankees. They sit 17.5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East and are a full seven games back from the final wild-card spot in the American League. With just eight games left on their schedule, the Yankees are virtually assured to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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