New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge stands one home run shy of 300 for his career.
On Monday, he’ll take aim at that milestone against the host Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series.
Judge, who leads the majors with 42 home runs this season, went 3-for-3 with a walk in Sunday’s 8-7 win against the Texas Rangers.
“It’s incredible. He does something special every night, every day,” Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said of Judge. “Being able to see most of his career so far besides one year, it’s been fun to watch the evolution, and he’s got more in store.”
New York, which is tied for first atop the American League East, launched four home runs on Sunday. Juan Soto hit two, going back-to-back with Judge in the seventh, and Stanton had a three-run shot in the fifth.
Soto has now homered against all 30 major league teams in his career.
New York had 12 hits on Sunday and has collected eight or more in 15 straight games, the club’s longest such streak since 1997.
“That’s a grind-it-out game. … I thought our at-bats throughout the day were excellent,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought even we could have got into double digits with … the quality of our contact (Sunday) and just kind of up and down the lineup guys putting together really good at-bats.”
Slumping Chicago had a rare Sunday off day after opening a five-game homestand with losses to the crosstown rival Cubs on Friday and Saturday.
The White Sox have lost 24 of their past 25 games to drop a franchise-record 63 games under .500. While the team has lost both games under interim manager Grady Sizemore since dismissing manager Pedro Grifol on Thursday, players sense a different energy in the clubhouse.
Chicago came one run shy of successfully rallying from an early 7-0 deficit on Friday, and on Saturday, it stayed afloat after taking a second-inning lead.
“I thought the transition has been solid so far,” White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen said. “Played two very competitive ballgames. Crowd has been into it both nights. Tough losses, but strong, tough games.”
That’s been a familiar refrain for a White Sox team that has blown 29 saves this year.
For his part, Sizemore said he’s working to keep the team upbeat as it tries to avoid the single-season modern-era record of 120 losses, established by the 1962 New York Mets. The White Sox are currently 28-91.
Southpaw Ky Bush (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will take the mound for Chicago on Monday. He made his major league debut last Monday, taking a loss against the Oakland Athletics after yielding three runs on two hits in four innings.
Bush walked five in that outing.
Right-hander Luis Gil (12-5, 3.06) is set to get the call for New York. He defeated the White Sox on May 18 behind a career-best 14 strikeouts in six innings of one-run ball.
Gil, who is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts against Chicago, has won his past two starts overall. He most recently pitched five shutout innings on Wednesday to beat the Los Angeles Angels.
–Field Level Media