Judge is second-fastest to 200 HRs
Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 on Saturday.
DJ LeMahieu homered and had an RBI single, and Matt Carpenter homered for the 15th time in 40 games for New York, which won its third straight after dropping a pair of games to the New York Mets.
The American Leagueleading Yankees have won seven straight against the Royals and 10 of the last 11.
Whit Merrifield had a third-inning double for his 1,000th career hit and Salvador Perez had a sacrifice fly for the Royals, who have lost five straight.
Judge, who became the first player in the majors this season to reach 40 homers Friday, fouled off two breaking balls from starter Jonathan Heasley before sending a 2-2 fastball into the right-center field seats for a two-run drive in the second inning. It was one of his two hits, and he also walked twice.
The 6-foot-7 slugger’s 200th homer came in his 671st career game, behind just Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, who achieved the feat in 2009 in 658 games.
Judge has 42 homers this season and is on pace for 67. He is tied with Sammy Sosa and two behind Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire for the most before Aug. 1 in
MLB history. Bonds holds the season record with 73 homers in 2001.
A free agent at the end of the season, Judge has nine homers and 21 RBIs with a .447 batting average in 10 games since the All-Star break. After hitting just one homer in his first 13 games, Judge has connected for 36 over his last 79 games and is on pace to surpass Roger
Maris’ club record of 61, set in 1961.
Rays 6, Guardians 4:
Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz homered as host Tampa Bay beat Cleveland. The Rays had dropped two consecutive games, getting one run and 10 singles in 18 innings over the stretch.
Blue Jays 5, Tigers 3:
Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the sixth inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scored twice and the host Blue Jays beat Detroit, Toronto’s 11th win in 14 games.
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Rays-Diamondbacks trade: Tampa Bay acquired outfielder David Peralta from Arizona, adding a veteran left-handed bat for the playoff race. The Rays sent 19-year-old minor league catcher Christian Cerda to the Diamondbacks. The 34-year-old Peralta has played his entire nine-year MLB career with the D-backs, where he won a Silver Slugger award in 2018 and
Aa Gold Glove in 2019. His bat has slowed in recent seasons, but he’s still very good against right-handed pitching. Peralta has a .248 average, 12 homers and 41 RBs this season.
Dodgers-Cubs trade: Los Angeles has bolstered its bullpen by acquiring right-hander Chris Martin from Chicago for infielderoutfielder Zach McKinstry. The 36-year-old Martin won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves last season and pitched three times during an NL Championship Series victory over the Dodgers. The 6-foot-8 reliever is 1-0 with a 4.31 ERA this season, striking out 40 batters with four walks in 31 1⁄3 innings.
Rockies: Closer Daniel Bard has signed a two-year contract extension with Colorado. The 37-year-old had been the subject of trade rumors ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. His deal keeps him with Colorado through 2024. The hard-throwing righty is 3-3 with 21 saves and a 1.91 ERA in 37 games.
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