Judge hits 29th homer, tying DiMaggio’s Yankee rookie mark
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a fifth-inning single with two runners on base in a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in New York, Wednesday, July 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
NEW YORK—Aaron Judge equaled Joe DiMaggio’s New York Yankees record for home runs by a rookie—before the All-Star break.
Judge hit a two-run drive into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s 7-6 loss to Toronto, his major league-leading 29th home run of the season.
DiMaggio set the Yankees rookie mark in 1936. Judge reached it in New York’s 83rd game of the season.
“Any time you’re in the sentence as someone like DiMaggio is pretty incredible,” Judge said. “It’s quite an honor.”
Connecting on a 92 mph fastball, Judge drove it 398 feet, according to MLB’s Statcast. The only other rookies to hit 29 homers before the All-Star break were Mark McGwire in 1987 (33) and Jose Abreu in 2014 (29).
Judge is hitting .331 with 65 RBIs and 104 strikeouts.
New York trailed 5-0 before the homer. Judge came up with two outs in the ninth with a runner on first and struck out against Roberto Osuna, unsuccessfully trying to check his swing on a low, outside slider.
“I got fooled,” Judge said.
