Aaron Judge Leads Yankees to Victory with 41st Home Run

Aaron Judge hit his 41st home run, adding to his league-leading total, as the New York Yankees triumphed over the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Saturday.

"We're watching greatness. So you try not to take that for granted," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Try to appreciate every now and then what we have."

Anthony Volpe and Trent Grisham also contributed with two-run homers off José Berríos, aiding Carlos Rodón (12-7) in securing his third consecutive win after a six-game losing streak.

Volpe and Austin Wells each added RBI singles for the Yankees, who were tied with Baltimore atop the AL East following their five-game winning streak being snapped on Friday night.

The Yankees, who had lost 16 of their last 22 home games—a streak not seen since 1917—saw a strong performance from Gleyber Torres.

Benched previously for not running hard out of the batter's box, Torres returned to the lineup, going 1 for 4 with a single and a walk.

He hustled into second base to beat a tag with a headfirst slide, scoring on Volpe's home run that extended the Yankees' lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning.

Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo homer in the first and was a triple shy of the cycle.

He is hitting .525 with nine home runs during a 16-game hitting streak and has five homers in 12 games against the Yankees this season.

Juan Soto singled on a 3-0 pitch in the first, setting the stage for Judge's 426-foot drive into the Blue Jays' bullpen, pushing his RBI total to a major league-high 103.

"He's the best hitter in the game," Rodón said. "It's a must-watch every at-bat."

Judge, who also hit a two-run shot on Friday, has six home runs in his last eight games and 16 first-inning homers this season, tying Babe Ruth's (1927) Yankees record and trailing Alex Rodríguez's 2001 MLB record by two.

"It's surreal. Anytime you hear any of those greats that are all around this building, all around this stadium, it's almost kind of make believe some of the stuff they did," Judge said.

"So to be mentioned in any type of category, sentence, anything with those guys, it's quite an honor."

Before the game, Toronto manager John Schneider acknowledged Judge's "comical" numbers and admitted it was "tempting" to walk him every at-bat. With two outs and no one on base in the second inning, Schneider intentionally walked Judge, drawing boos from the 40,218 fans.

According to MLB, this marked the first time since 1972 that a hitter was intentionally walked in the first two innings of a game.

"I honestly didn't feel like seeing him swing. That was kind of it," Schneider explained. "He's in a different category I think than anyone else in the league, where he can just flip the script of a game with one swing."

In the fourth inning, Toronto pitched to Judge, who struck out against Berríos (9-9).

Following an error by second baseman Spencer Horwitz, Grisham's homer increased the Yankees' lead to 4-1. Rodón threw 106 pitches over 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight and allowing three hits on a 90-degree afternoon.

"Just a steady mix," he said. "Just trying to attack the zone."

Alejandro Kirk's two-run single off Jake Cousins in the sixth cut the deficit, but the Yankees' bullpen held firm.

Clay Holmes struck out George Springer with the bases loaded for his 23rd save in 31 chances.

The Yankees have scored at least five runs in eight straight games, their longest streak since September 2021.

"I feel good about really every spot right now," Boone said of his lineup. "The guys are contributing."

Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, who started Friday, was ejected by plate umpire Laz Diaz in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes from the bench.