Aaron Judge continues to rise up the record books.
The scorching-hot Yankees slugger hit his MLB-leading 50th and 51st home runs of the year during Sunday’s 10-3 win over the Rockies in the Bronx, making him the fifth player ever with three 50-homer seasons.
His second home run of the afternoon came sandwiched in between solo shots by Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, marking the first time the powerful trio has gone back-to-back-to-back.
Judge repeatedly heard MVP chants from a rowdy crowd of 41,324.
Those frenzied fans watched Judge join an exclusive club that also includes Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, who each recorded four 50-homer seasons, and Alex Rodriguez, who achieved the feat three times.
Judge’s 50th home run of the year came on an 0-2 changeup from Colorado starter Austin Gomber, which he sent 431 feet over the wall in left-center to put the Yankees up, 2-1, in the bottom of the first.
The two-run shot was Judge’s 18th first-inning home run of the season, tying an MLB record held by Rodriguez, who hit the same number of homers in the opening frame with Texas in 2001.
The Yankees’ next power surge came in the seventh inning, when Soto connected on his 37th homer of the year, boosting what is already a career-high total for the 25-year-old. Soto is now three home runs away from the 200th of his career.
Judge hit his second home run of the day on the very next pitch. It was the sixth time he and Soto have gone back-to-back.
Stanton’s drive to straightaway center, meanwhile, clinched the first instance of the Yankees hitting three home runs in a row since Sept. 17, 2020.
Sunday’s back-to-back-to-back blasts came against Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell.
Judge is now on pace for 63 home runs, which would beat his own American League single-season record of 62 in 2022.
The Yankees have 31 more games for Judge to add to his historic statistics.
He now boasts 47 home runs over his last 102 games. If he were to remain at that pace over the next 31 games — rather than at his season-long pace — Judge would finish with 65 home runs.
Judge’s first 50-homer season came in 2017, when he hit 52 for what was then a rookie record. Earlier this month, the 32-year-old Judge became the fastest in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs in terms of games (955) and at-bats (3,431).
Sunday’s eruption came a day after Rodriguez returned to Yankee Stadium for his first Old-Timers’ Day and marveled at Judge’s season, calling him a “unicorn.”
“I’ve never seen a player quite like him, that looks like an NFL tight end, 6-7, 282 pounds, under 10 percent body fat,” Rodriguez, who is 6-3, said Saturday. “The guy’s just a specimen, so I can’t relate with that … because he makes me look small.”
Judge also leads MLB hitters with 122 RBI and a 1.201 OPS, while his .333 average ranks second.
Gleyber Torres added a three-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday, giving the Yankees five homers for the day.
The Yankees’ powerful performance came in support of Yankees starter Marcus Stroman, who allowed three runs over five innings. The right-hander struck out five, gave up five hits and walked three.
Stroman has now pitched at least five innings and allowed three runs or fewer in each of his three starts since the Yankees pushed his turn in the rotation from Aug. 8 to Aug. 11 so he could work on his mechanics.
The right-hander sports a 2.25 ERA over those three starts after pitching to a 6.32 ERA over his previous 10.
A scary moment occurred in the fifth inning Sunday when home-plate umpire Nick Mahrley was struck in the neck by the barrel of Stanton’s broken bat. Mahrley left the game on a cart, and the Yankees said he was being evaluated by their medical staff with a full battery of tests.
The win clinched a series victory for the Yankees (77-54), who beat the Rockies (48-83) on Friday but lost Saturday. The Yankees are set to kick off a three-game road series against the Nationals on Monday night.
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