Judge, Pujols nearing HR milestones

Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols could make this a milestone week for home runs. Judge hit two more Sunday, raising his season total to 59, two shy of Roger Maris’ American League record. Now the slugger returns to Yankee Stadium, where the team plays its next six games. Pujols, meanwhile, is somewhat improbably closing in on the 700-home run mark after hitting 12 since the start of August. Judge’s pursuit of Maris has stirred debate over how to put this AL record in context, should he break it. He’s unlikely to threaten Barry Bonds’ major league record of 73, but that mark, as well as the exploits of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa around the same time, have become complicated by performance-enhancing drug suspicions. Judge is also in the mix for the AL Triple Crown — he’s leading big in homers and RBIs and just one point behind batting leader Luis Arraez — but that won’t sort itself out until closer to the end of the season. The 42-year-old Pujols, who’s retiring at the end of the season, is trying to become the fourth major leaguer to reach 700 homers, following Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. The Cardinals’ next eight games are on the road against the Padres, Dodgers and Brewers.