PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Judge not only leads the world in home runs, he’s also helping his teammates hit more.
Judge hit two more home runs in a 14-4 win over the Phillies on Monday at Citizens Bank Park before handing the batting position to new teammate Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the top of the ninth against Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs.
Chisholm’s second home run of the night brought Judge’s total to 39 this season and 40 in at bats.
Chisholm, thinking he’d never gotten a hit on the mound against a fielder, picked up Judge’s bat.
“I told him it was either to hit right-handed or use his bat,” said the left-handed hitter Chisholm. “And it worked out.”
“Make sure you use it,” Judge said. [right] And he did just that.”
Judge added that he thought he should have been credited with hitting half a home run as well.
Despite the results, Chisholm doesn’t expect to use it again anytime soon.
“Absolutely not,” Chisholm said. “That bat is too heavy.”
That’s a good performance for Judge, who hit a solo homer in the top of the first inning and a two-run 430-footer to left field in the seventh to give him 99 RBIs in addition to his 39 home runs.
Judge lamented the fact that he struck out three times rather than soak in the home run, but his offensive prowess left Aaron Boone nearly speechless.
“He’s walking a lot of batters and pitching a lot of innings,” Boone said. “It’s amazing. What he’s doing in this hitting environment. [what] He and Juan [Soto] We’re all doing this together, so I hope everyone enjoys it.”
Soto also hit two doubles and combined with Judge for four extra-base hits and six RBIs, further proving Tuesday’s trade deadline is crucial for the Yankees, who are guaranteed just one season of the two as teammates before Soto becomes a free agent.
This will be Chisholm’s first time seeing Judge as a teammate and he’s trying to soak up as much as he can.
“To look up [close] “It’s incredible what he does, the way he does it, the way he works,” Chisholm said. “It’s the first time I’ve actually seen a guy like him do the job.”
Rather than watching Judge’s home run highlights from afar, Chisholm was impressed with his work off the field.
“For me, it’s preparation for the day,” Chisholm said. “You see the misses he hits, but when you get up close and personal, you see the balls he’s hitting and the balls he’s looking at.”
