Judge hits 2 of Yanks’ 6 HRs

Pitching holds Cubs’ bats at bay for ninth shutout

Aaron Judge hit two of the Yankees’ six solo homers off rookie Matt Swarmer, and New York routed the Chicago Cubs 8-0 on Saturday night for its 10th win in 11 games.

Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Jose Trevino and former Cub Anthony Rizzo also went deep against the 28-year-old right-hander as the Yankees hit their most homers since Sept. 17, 2020, against Toronto.

Batting leadoff for the fourth time this year, Judge hit his second career leadoff homer, sending a 1-0 fastball from Swarmer (1-1) into the left-field seats. Judge added his major league-leading 24th, one of three home runs in the fifth.

Stanton hit a 436-foot drive off the facing of the left-field second deck in the fourth for his 360th homer — one shy of Joe DiMaggio. Stanton’s 119.8 mph drive was the hardest-hit home run in the major league this season. Of 42 homers hit 119 mph or higher since Statcast began tracking in 2015, Stanton has 31.

New York leads the majors with 94 home runs and is 23-1 when Judge and

Stanton both homer, including 7-0 this year.

The Yankees are a major league-best 43-16. The four other times they won at least 43 of their first 59 games, they won the World Series — in 1928, 1939, 1953 and 1998.

Jordan Montgomery (2-1) allowed five hits in seven innings, struck out five, walked none and got 12 outs via ground balls.

Ron Marinaccio and Lucas Luetge pitched a hitless inning each, and the Yankees tied the Mets for the big league lead with their ninth shutout — the Yankees’ most at this point of the season since 1967.

Chicago lost its fifth straight, matching its longest skid this season, and at 23-35 dropped a seasonworst 12 games under .500. Swarmer allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings in his third career start, his ERA rising from 1.50 to 4.24.

The Cubs have gone hitless in 40 at-bats with runners in scoring position since Patrick Wisdom’s RBI double in the eighth inning Sunday against St. Louis.

Torres followed Stanton’s drive by homering for the second straight night and with 12 this season matched his total for 2020 and 21 combined. Trevino raised his average to .309 with three hits and tied his career best with five home runs in 102 plate appearances, a total he reached in 302 with Texas last year.

Mike Stobe / Getty Images/TNS Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hits his second home run of the game in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium on Saturday in New York. Judge extended his major-league lead in home runs to 24 for the season.