Alex Rodriguez bid farewell to Major League Baseball on August 12, 2016, at Yankee Stadium. The following day, Aaron Judge made a memorable debut with his first career home run. Nearly ten years later, Judge’s and Rodriguez’s careers intersected again as Judge hit his 351st career home run in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Braves at Truist Park.
Judge expressed admiration for Rodriguez, stating, “It’s just an incredible honor, especially growing up and watching A-Rod for so many years, watching what he did in the pinstripes. He’s a legend, one of the best to ever play. So getting to tie him with the Yankees, that’s pretty cool – but there’s more to come.”
Babe Ruth holds the Yankees’ all-time home run record with 659 homers, followed by Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493), Joe DiMaggio (361), and Yogi Berra (358).
Judge’s latest homer was his 36th of the season and marked his first at Truist Park. This places him alongside Willy Adames, Randal Grichuk, and Carlos Santana for homering in the third-most Major League parks among active players.
With New York’s bullpen fatigued, early runs were crucial. Supported by Judge’s homer and Paul Goldschmidt’s single in the first inning, Marcus Stroman delivered six innings of one-run pitching.
Stroman stated his intent: “I always want to go six or seven innings. That’s always the goal.” Manager Aaron Boone avoided using several relievers and instead transitioned from Stroman to Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, and Devin Williams seamlessly.
Boone praised Stroman’s pitching strategy: “I thought he continued to do a nice job of mixing and matching.” Judge also lauded Stroman: “You go up and down that [Braves] lineup – they’ve got guys that can hit for power… It’s a tricky lineup to navigate.”
Since returning from injury on June 29, Stroman has achieved a 2-0 record with a 3.00 ERA over four starts.
A standout defensive moment came when Jorbit Vivas made a diving catch to help escape a jam in the third inning. Boone noted its significance: “That was probably the one big threat they had going in that game.”
Offensively contributing as well, Vivas was hit by a pitch with bases loaded in the sixth inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added another run with a double in the seventh.
Devin Williams secured his 14th save despite allowing a Ronald Acuña Jr. homer in the ninth inning.
Judge commented on their recent success: “This was a big series win… It’s a good time to start getting hot” as they prepare for their upcoming series against division leaders Toronto Blue Jays.
