With the New York Yankees trailing the Boston Red Sox, 4-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday night, Aaron Judge came to the plate.
Zach Kelly had just walked Juan Soto on four straight pitches to load the bases and fans were on their feet, chanting “MVP” as Judge stepped into the box. After taking two balls, the superstar launched a grand slam over the left field wall, sending the Bronx crowd into an absolute frenzy.
The home run snapped a 16-game homerless streak for Judge, the longest of his career. And after securing the 5-4 victory, which strengthened their hold on the AL East, the Yankees’ public relations department released an epic edit of Judge’s grand salami.
You come at The Judge, you best not miss.#RepBX pic.twitter.com/pbSFtOh8oW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 14, 2024
Chills.
In the clubhouse after the game, a relieved Judge joked about his homerless streak, pretending not to know how many games it had been.
“Was it 16 games? I didn’t really know that,” Judge said, via ESPN. “It’s just another day. I really don’t focus on hitting homers. I don’t focus on any of that. I’ve got a job to do.
“Sixteen games, is that a lot or was it not? I don’t know.”
Although Judge is now off the pace to break his own AL home run record (61), he still leads the league in most offensive metrics and appears well on his way to securing the second MVP Award of his career. More importantly, he’s heating up again with the playoffs just around the corner.
