SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge grew up watching San Francisco Giants games on television and in person, imagining himself throwing long balls like Barry Bonds.
In his first game here, he did his best Bonds impression.
Judge capped a spectacular May with two home runs in his first game in San Francisco, and the New York Yankees beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday night.
“I think it was rounding the bases. I looked out to left field and being in those stands a couple of times, it brought back some memories,” Judge said. “It’s a special place. I grew up a Giants fan. I loved coming to the games here. It’s great to be on the opposite side of the field.”
Judge grew up about 100 miles away in Linden and was heavily recruited by the Giants in free agency in December 2022, but he decided to stay with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.
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He got his first chance to step into the batter’s box here during batting practice before the game. He felt at home once he started, despite the boos that greeted him at every at-bat. He took little time to show the Giants and their fans what they missed when he snubbed 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 in the past made him look pretty small sometimes.”
After hitting a single in the first inning, Judge launched a three-run homer to left field in the third against Jordan Hicks (4-2) and then another solo home run in the sixth to give him a major league-leading 20 home runs.
“It’s hard to understand what he’s doing,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He just does his thing. He’s very consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and the way he does it. It’s just fun to watch.”
Most of that damage came in May, when Judge hit 14 home runs and 12 doubles with 27 RBIs. His 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankee 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 a player in the majors had that many. extra bases. base hits in any month.
He is also the first player in MLB history to reach 35 games with multiple home runs in fewer than 1,000 games, according to KeynoteUSA Stats & Information research.
Judge’s bat has helped lead the Yankees to 14 wins in their last 18 games, as they became the fourth team 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 earn the win. The Yankees tied a franchise record set in 1981 with their 18th consecutive start with a pitcher who went at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs.
“He’s unbelievable,” Stroman said of Judge. “It’s hard to put into words, but it definitely gives the whole team a little bit of a boost and motivation when he keeps going. He’s definitely doing his part. So it makes everyone else want to do more for the team. He’s definitely locked in.”
Judge now leads the majors with 20 home runs this season, a number that ties Mickey Mantle in 1956 and Tino Martínez in 1997 for the most home runs in Yankees history before June.
That’s also a big change from earlier in the month, when Judge hit .207 in March and April along with plenty of questions about the slow start.
While everyone else might have been worried, Judge remained calm.
“I can’t sit there feeling sorry for yourself when things aren’t going well. I still have games to play and win. Just try to stay consistent and help the team win,” he said after Thursday’s 8-3 win over The Angels. Angels Angels. “I feel like every season I have one of those months where things just don’t go the way you want. It was tough that it had to be April at first, 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 more than 14 home runs and more than 12 doubles in a month, according to KeynoteUSA Stats & Information.
“When he’s hot, he’s tough to deal with,” manager Bob Melvin said of Judge. “When you make good pitches, he fouls or takes them and waits for a good pitch. You throw him a pitch he can handle, that’s what he does with it.”
Information from The KeynoteUSA was used in this report.
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