Dynamic duo Judge (No. 9), Rice (8) make Yanks HR history in rout
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NEW YORK – There are no more surprises with Aaron Judge, not after collecting three American League MVP awards in the past four seasons. If someone is caught off guard when the Yankees’ captain belts a first-inning homer into Monument Park, as he did on Sunday, they must not be paying attention.
Ben Rice might not have the same cluttered hardware shelf -- at least, not yet. But the young first baseman is claiming a place among the Majors’ most impactful sluggers, homering for a fourth consecutive game in the Yankees’ 7-0 victory over the Royals at Yankee Stadium, completing a series sweep.
“It feels good to hit some homers; I mean, he’s always going to be hitting homers,” Rice said. “So to be able to hit some along with him is cool for me.”
After Judge cracked a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning, his ninth of the season (and sixth in eight games), Rice reached the right-field seats with a solo homer in the second inning. Rice entered Sunday ranked second in the Majors with a 1.243 OPS.
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“It’s just quality at-bat after at-bat – it doesn’t matter who’s on the mound or what the situation is when he’s going up there,” Judge said. “It’s been impressive to see him just take his walks when he can, come up with the big hit when we need it and keep passing that baton.”
Both blasts came off left-hander Cole Ragans, who also served up a three-run Trent Grisham homer and walked a career-high eight, ticketed for a fifth-inning shower.
While the Yankees have held Rice out of the lineup at times against southpaws, with manager Aaron Boone saying he likes the freedom of deploying him as a pinch-hitting option, Rice’s performance is making it difficult to take him out – no matter who is on the mound.
“The bottom line is, he’s turning into – or even is – one of the really outstanding hitters in this league,” Boone said.
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Judge and Rice have combined for 17 homers, the most of any teammate duo this year.
They’re also the third Yankees tandem to belt eight or more homers each through the team’s first 22 games, joining Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle (1956), plus Judge and Anthony Rizzo (2022).
“It’ll definitely be some headaches for some opposing pitching staffs, because of what Benny’s done this year and will continue to do,” Judge said. “He’s at the top of the league right now.”
The lopsided contest represented the first run support Ryan Weathers has received in five starts this year as the pitcher of record. The left-hander made it hold up, firing 7 1/3 innings to earn his first victory in pinstripes.
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“It’s awesome,” Weathers said. “Every time I want to pitch, I want to win for the New York Yankees.”
There was sharp defense behind him, like an excellent sixth-inning relay by José Caballero that kept Kansas City off the board. But the game underlined a staple Yankees formula: Hit home runs, then win.
The Bombers improved to 8-1 when hitting two or more homers this season; they’re 12-9 in all other games.
“This lineup last year had five guys who hit 30 homers,” Grisham said. “That’s felt by other teams.”
Fanatical about his pregame preparation, Judge came out ready to go after a 2-hour, 45-minute rain delay, slugging the first pitch he saw from Ragans over the center-field wall. Judge’s nine homers are second in the Majors, behind Yordan Alvarez (10) of the Astros.
It was the fifth first-inning homer of the season for Judge, whose 90 first-inning homers are third in franchise history behind Babe Ruth (126) and Mantle (103). Since 2024, 45 of Judge’s 120 home runs have come in the first inning.
“I don’t usually get a chance to bat in the second or third, so I usually get a chance in the first,” Judge said.
The Yanks looked sharp as they exited the Stadium, with the annual Welcome Home Dinner on deck for Sunday evening. The outcome ensured New York would be greeted by smiling faces at the gala event, wrapping up a 5-2 homestand.
A four-game split with the Angels didn’t come easily, but the Yanks continued their years-running dominance of Kansas City to vault into a three-city road trip that begins Tuesday night in Boston.
“This was a big series for us, especially facing the Royals, who we saw a couple of years ago in the postseason,” Judge said. “To put up some big runs was huge. We’ll definitely take this momentum into those series.”