Judgian, Stantonian blasts power Yanks to 5th straight win

NEW YORK -- The Bronx Bash Bros. are at it again.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both crushed monster home runs Friday night as the Bronx Bombers returned to Yankee Stadium, leading New York to a series-opening, 4-2 win over the White Sox.

And that formula -- Judge homers, Stanton homers, Yankees win -- that formula never gets old.

"No, no. Old? No," Stanton said with a grin after Friday's game. "We need more. We need more."

Judge's homer against Chicago was a 114.4 mph, 433-foot rocket into the second deck down the left-field line to open the scoring in the first inning. Stanton's was hit even harder -- 116.2 mph and 417 feet to the same area of the stands as Judge's, just in the first deck.

It's the 39th time Judge and Stanton have homered in the same game as teammates, and the fourth time this season. The Yankees are 35-4 in those games. They've won all four in 2024. (The other three were April 6 against the Blue Jays, April 27 against the Brewers and May 8 against the Astros, when Judge, Stanton and Juan Soto all homered.)

The Judgian and Stantonian blasts are coming in bunches now. The two sluggers have 10 home runs between them in the last two weeks -- six by Judge, four by Stanton.

"When Aaron's swinging it like he is right now, the guys definitely get a jolt out of that," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "And we've seen a lot of that in the last week -- some early shots fired by A.J."

Judge now has 12 home runs on the season, just one behind the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, the Astros' Kyle Tucker and the Orioles' Gunnar Henderson for the Major League lead. Stanton has 10, making him and Judge the second pair of teammates to reach double digits this season, after Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández.

With every big swing, Judge puts his early-season struggles further and further behind him. But he's been the same Aaron Judge the whole time.

"He's so good at that," Boone said. "He's human -- he gets mad here and there, or gets frustrated, or you're trying to find it a little bit and you press a little bit. But he, more than anyone I've ever been around – you can't tell when he's on this kind of roll, or if he's had a series where he's had real struggles. You can't tell by his interactions with the club. It's a testament to who he is."

And with every big swing, Stanton puts his injury-plagued 2023 season further and further behind him.

"Last year is the past," Stanton said. "You just live for now. And try to help us win every night."

Over the last two weeks, Judge has raised his OPS from .725 to .981, second-best in the American League behind Tucker. It seems like every swing is sending the ball over the fence or into the gaps; he has 15 extra-base hits in that span.

His teammates have noticed. So have the Yankees' opponents -- after Judge’s homer, the White Sox gave him the Aaron Judge treatment by walking him intentionally with first base open in the fifth inning, while trailing by two runs.

"It's unreal," Stanton said. "You can't get him out. He can't hit a single right now. His 'singles' are his walks. It's been fun to watch."

"I don't think he's hit a base hit in the last five games. It's doubles and homers," Yankees starter Nestor Cortes said with a laugh. "I know people were asking questions about his start to the year, but we just know it takes one swing of the bat for him to turn it around. And that's exactly what he's doing."

Stanton's doing it, too. He's hit three of the five hardest home runs of the 2024 season within the last two weeks. Friday's came in at No. 5.

Hardest HRs of 2024

1. Giancarlo Stanton: 119.9 mph, May 8 vs. HOU
2. Giancarlo Stanton: 118.8 mph, May 7 vs. HOU
3. Shohei Ohtani: 118.7 mph, April 23 vs. WSH
4. Yordan Alvarez: 116.8 mph, May 9 vs. NYY
5. Giancarlo Stanton: 116.2 mph, May 17 vs. CWS

"He looks like Big G," Judge said. "I know he's been battling injuries the past couple of seasons, but I think he's finally feeling healthy and feeling like himself."

"I've sensed he's been in the fight all year with his at-bats," Boone said. "And when that's the case, and he's got his balance, he's very dangerous, obviously."