Judge sets rookie HR record in Yanks’ win
Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, hitting a pair for the second straight day to raise his total to 50 and lead the Yankees past the Kansas City Royals, 11-3, yesterday in New York.
The 6-foot-7, 25-year-old slugger tied the mark with a two-run drive to rightcenter off Jakob Junis (8-3) in the third inning that put New York ahead, 3-0. His solo shot over the visitors bullpen in left against Trevor Cahill in the seventh made it 7-3 and earned him a rare curtain call.
The Yankees cut their AL East deficit to four games behind the Red Sox with six games to play.
Judge has 13 home runs in September and six in the last five games, and he is second in the majors behind Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton, who has 57. Judge has four multi-homer games this month and seven this season.
Judge was hitting .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBI when he won the All-Star Home Run Derby, then slumped to a .179 average with seven homers and 16 RBI from the start of the second half through Aug. 31, striking out 67 times in 44 games. His September rebound boosted his average to .283 with 108 RBI and an AL-leading 120 walks and a big league-high 203 strikeouts, putting himself back into MVP consideration.
McGwire hit 49 homers for Oakland in 1987.
White Sox 4, Angels 2 — James Shields tossed seven strong innings, Nicky Delmonico drove in a pair of runs and host Chicago dealt a serious blow to Los Angeles’ slim playoff hopes.
Astros 11, Rangers 2 — In Arlington, Texas, Marwin Gonzalez had four hits and three RBI as AL West champion Houston put Texas on the brink of elimination in the wild-card race.
Mariners 7, Athletics 1 — Mitch Haniger homered twice and Felix Hernandez won for the first time in more than two months as visiting Seattle defeated Oakland.
National League
Nationals 3, Phillies 1 — Michael Taylor homered, A.J. Cole allowed one run while pitching into the sixth inning and Washington won in Philadelphia.
Any plans the Nationals had of returning former MVP Bryce Harper to the lineup were derailed by his flulike symptoms. The fivetime All-Star has been out since he slipped on a wet base and hyperextended his left knee on Aug. 12. He has missed 42 games.
The Nationals rested Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon.
Braves, Mets split — Rookie right-hander Lucas Sims (3-5) had his best performance in the majors, fellow first-year player Ozzie Albies homered and Atlanta beat host New York, 9-2, in the first game of a doubleheader.
In the nightcap, Seth Lugo pitched two-hit ball for six innings, Travis d’Arnaud hit the team’s record-setting 219th homer of the season and the Mets won, 3-2.
Cubs 10, Cardinals 2 — Addison Russell hit a threerun double in the first inning, then made a food run for fans in enemy territory while visiting Chicago beat St. Louis to move within a win of cinching a second straight NL Central title.
He delivered nachos to a fan down the third-base line a few innings after diving into the stands and spilling the fan’s original plate of chips.
Marlins 5, Rockies 4 — In Denver, Miguel Rojas had a career-high four RBI and Miami held off Colorado, which had its lead for the second NL wild card drop to 11⁄2 games over Milwaukee.
Giants 9, Diamondbacks 2 — In Phoenix, Nick Hundley hit a three-run homer, Johnny Cueto pitched well over six innings and San Francisco beat Arizona, which sat most of its regulars a day after clinching the top NL wild card.
Dodgers 9, Padres 3 — Yu Darvish allowed one run on two hits over seven innings, Logan Forsythe went 3-for3 with a home run and four RBI, and host Los Angeles became the major league’s first team to 100 victories this season, routing San Diego.
Dodgers star outfielder Yasiel Puig arrived late to the ballpark yesterday and was benched by manager Dave Roberts. Puig was not in the lineup Sunday after a baserunning blunder the previous day.