NEW YORK -- After the Yankees were swept by the Rays for the first time since April 2021, Aaron Judge preached a simple message to New York’s lineup following their fifth straight loss: “We need to simplify.”
And in his very first at-bat back in the Bronx on Monday, Judge set the tone with a loud two-run blast off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, sending a hanging changeup a Statcast-projected 456 feet into the left-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. Judge’s fifth homer of the year left the bat with an exit velocity of 116.2 mph -- the hardest-hit home run across the Majors so far -- and was the fourth-longest in MLB, as well.
He didn't stop there. After three-time MVP Mike Trout launched a game-tying three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, Judge one-upped him in the bottom half with his second blast of the game to quickly put the Yanks ahead again. Another no-doubter punctuated by a casual bat flip, this one went a mere 398 feet and was hit with an exit velocity of 111.4 mph.
Judge wasn’t alone in his heroics. Trent Grisham broke out of his own slump: First with a go-ahead three-run pinch-hit blast in the fifth inning, and then a second, game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Angels closer Jordan Romano. Grisham, who hadn’t notched an extra-base hit since March 31, set the stage for José Caballero to scamper home on a walk-off wild pitch, clawing an 11-10 Yankees win from the depths. The club snapped its five-game losing streak and notched its first positive result in a one-run game this season.
“In a lot of ways, good to win a game like that,” manager Aaron Boone said. “ … As tough as tonight was for the belly sitting over there -- after you get a lead, get another lead and then it’s gone -- maybe it was good to have a game like that, where it was a little messy and then the offense was able to really pick up what’s been excellent pitching so far.”
Following Sunday's loss at Tampa Bay, Judge felt that the lineup as a whole may have been pressing a bit, with players getting themselves in “some bad counts and bad situations.” The first two plate appearances for New York against Kikuchi showed that the club might have taken those words to heart. After leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt crushed a mistake 1-2 fastball into the left-center-field gap, Judge jumped on a 2-0 changeup that caught too much of the plate.
Judge now has 28 home runs that have traveled over 455 feet in the Statcast era (2015, including playoffs), the second most behind teammate Giancarlo Stanton (30).
This was also Judge's 47th career multihomer game, passing Mickey Mantle for the second most in Yankees franchise history. He trails only Babe Ruth, who had 68 such games.
“Hopefully, we can keep that list growing,” Judge said. “I’ve played a lot of games here, and to be surrounded by some greats like that is special, but [I’m] just happy to do stuff like that in a win.”
Judge’s outsized contributions kickstarted the Yankees’ offensive onslaught on a night where starter Will Warren was chased in the fourth inning after giving up four unearned runs. But Grisham’s cameo amid a scuffling stretch feels more important in the long run, especially considering the Yankees entered Monday hitting .203 as a team with runners in scoring position.
Grisham entered as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of fifth, with runners on second and third, to face Angels righty Shaun Anderson after Los Angeles tied the game at four in the previous inning. Grisham worked a 2-1 count, and then deposited a changeup into the right-field bleachers for his first homer of the season, giving the Yankees a three-run lead. The aggressive move -- the second pinch-hitter of the frame deployed by Boone -- was mired in a need for defense the rest of the game, but also in trust in the at-bats Grisham had been taking over the past couple weeks.
“We talked about some of the guys who had been struggling, I don’t know if I really throw him in that bucket,” Boone said. “Just because there have been all the walks, I feel like he’s hit a lot balls on the barrel.”
Before the game, Grisham showed no signs of carrying the slump with him, taking batting practice on the field with his pants rolled up and socks barely showing, focused on his preparation despite not being in the starting lineup. His trot on his game-tying ninth-inning blast -- a no-doubter on a 3-1 slider that jolted the crowd at Yankee Stadium awake after Trout snatched the lead back again in the eighth -- was noticeably understated. It was eerily reminiscent of the quiet confidence Grisham displayed while crushing 34 homers the previous year.
“He’s just never wavered,” Judge said. “It doesn’t matter if he comes up with a big hit or starts the rally. I know he’s not quite starting the season the way he wanted to, but this guy’s showing up every single day ready to go. And to come up with two big hits like that for us when we needed it, it just speaks volumes to the type of guy he is.”