The New York Yankees got back to their winning ways on Tuesday, bouncing back from a series loss against the Boston Red Sox to take care of business against the Kansas City Royals.
The win was underscored by another moonshot home run from franchise slugger Aaron Judge, who launched a ball more than 450 feet. But the team captain didn’t spend too much time admiring his hit.
“The baseball that almost was hit clear out of Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night, a first-inning, two-run blast by the Yankees’ superhero that landed on top of the Royals Hall of Fame building, was enjoyable to the maestro for about a second,” Randy Miller reported for NJ.com “That’s what Aaron Judge claims, and he’s very believable when he says so because celebrating personal achievements never has been in his DNA.”
Though Judge won’t spend much time celebrating it, his season so far is one for the record books. He is slashing an absurd .396/.491/.776 with 24 homers and leading the Yankees to a significant first-place lead in the American League East division.
And he’s about to get some reinforcement in the batting order, as teammate Giancarlo Stanton returned from a season-long injured list stint on Tuesday with a rehab start in the minors. When Judge was informed that Stanton went 2-for-3 with two line-drive singles to center field, he offered a two-word quip in response.
“Just singles?” Judge asked, per Miller.
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Stanton’s rehab return was more than encouraging and it suggests he could be on track to rejoin the big-league roster in time for an upcoming rematch with the Red Sox. Though it seems Judge hardly needs it, he’ll surely welcome an offensive boost to the batting order.
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