LIVE: Watch Judge vs. Ohtani FREE on MLB.TV
Two of the leading contenders for the AL MVP Award will collide Wednesday, when Shohei Ohtani's Angels host Aaron Judge's Yankees in the series finale, and you can watch for free on MLB.TV.
The Halos’ matchup against the Bronx Bombers in Anaheim is the Free Game of the Day, presented by Blue Moon.
With 29 homers, 79 RBIs and an .882 OPS at the plate, plus a 2.67 ERA with 176 K’s over 128 innings on the mound, Ohtani entered Tuesday with the second-most wins above replacement (7.1) in MLB, according to Baseball-Reference.
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The only man ahead of him? Judge (7.6 bWAR), who became the seventh player in AL/NL history (10th occurrence overall) to reach 50 homers before September when he went deep Monday night.
If he keeps up his current pace, Judge would break Roger Maris’ AL record for single-season homers (61). He’s aiming to become the Yankees’ first MVP winner since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
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Speaking of MVPs, three-time AL winner Mike Trout is swinging a hot bat after returning from a stint on the injured list. He put up a .355/.412/.774 slash with four homers in eight games from Aug. 21-29. Giancarlo Stanton, the 2017 NL MVP, is back from the IL as well, giving a struggling Yanks lineup some much needed pop.
Wednesday's game also features a great starting pitching matchup. The Yankees will give the ball to right-hander Gerrit Cole, who has 200 K's and a 3.31 ERA this season. He'll oppose Angels lefty Patrick Sandoval, who owns a 1.07 ERA in August.