Aaron Judge is producing numbers similar to 2022 when he broke the American League single-season home run record, and the New York Yankees’ main power threat will have the full attention of the visiting Los Angeles Angels when the teams meet Tuesday to open a three-game series.
Judge is up to 41 homers and 103 RBIs this season, while also leading the major leagues with 92 walks, including 11 intentional free passes.
Four of those intentional walks were in the last two games and Judge might see fewer pitches to hit against in the series against the Angels.
The Yankees are on a 7-1 tear going back to July 27 after dropping 23 of their previous 33. Judge has five homers and is batting .517 (15-for-29) over the past eight games.
Judge hit home runs in the first inning both Friday and Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. After his home run Saturday, he was issued an intentional walk with nobody on and two outs in the second inning of an eventual 8-3 win. On Sunday, he was issued three free passes before DJ LeMahieu hit the game-winning single in the 10th inning of a 4-3 win.
“You want (Judge) at the plate,” said Juan Soto, who hit a home run Sunday and is batting .386 (32-for-83) over his past 20 games. “I’m doing my best to put him up and you see them pass him over. It just really makes me mad. I don’t like that. I want them to challenge him and see what he can really do. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. They’re trying to win too, so you respect that.”
The Angels are 12-9 in their past 21 games and 10 of those are by three runs or fewer. They enter off a pair of one-run home victories over the New York Mets, following Saturday’s 5-4 win with a 3-2 victory Sunday when they overcame three errors.
Los Angeles saw relievers Jose Marte, Mike Baumann and Roansy Contreras allow two hits over four scoreless innings, while Matt Thaiss and Kevin Pillar had sacrifice flies.
“They did a tremendous job,” manager Ron Washington said of his relievers. “Before the game, I stopped all three and asked them if they were ready to finish the game. But it worked out.”
The Angels are expected to welcome Anthony Rendon back to the lineup Tuesday after the third baseman missed another week with lower back tightness. Rendon was placed on the injured list July 26 after missing nearly three months with a hamstring strain and is expected to be dropped from the leadoff spot.
Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (11-5, 3.20 ERA), who is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA in his past three outings, will open the series and attempt to match Carlos Rodon for the team lead in wins. Gil last started July 29 in Philadelphia when he allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 14-4 win.
Gil’s return to his earlier season form is coming after he went 0-4 with a 9.37 ERA in four starts from June 20-July 7. On May 29, Gil dominated when he allowed one run on two hits and notched nine strikeouts in eight innings of a 2-1 road win against the Angels.
Los Angeles right-hander Davis Daniel (1-2, 4.91 ERA) will make his fifth career start and has sandwiched two strong outings around two losses.
After taking consecutive losses against Oakland and Texas in early July and spending some time at Triple-A Salt Lake, Daniel returned to the majors in late July and on Wednesday allowed one run on five hits over five innings in a no-decision to the Colorado Rockies.
–Field Level Media