Yankees’ Aaron Judge Talks Breaking 16-Game HR Drought with Grand Slam vs. Red Sox

Adam WellsSeptember 14, 2024

Luke Hales/Getty Images

Aaron Judge snapped the longest homerless drought of his career in grand fashion in the New York Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

The six-time All-Star took a 95-mph fastball from Red Sox reliever Cam Booser in the bottom of the seventh deep to left field for a grand slam that turned a three-run deficit into a lead for the Yankees.

MLB @MLBAaron Judge sends the Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy! pic.twitter.com/6Ll7ZEiTlD

Speaking to reporters after the game, Judge downplayed knowing how long it had been since his last homer.

“Was it 16 games? I didn’t really know that,” Judge said. “It’s just another day. I really don’t focus on hitting homers. I don’t focus on any of that. I’ve got a job to do. Sixteen games, is that a lot or was it not? I don’t know.”

Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt disputed that Judge wasn’t aware of how many games he had gone without hitting a ball out of the park.

“Judge is very aware of stuff like that. It’s hard to ignore it,” Schmidt said. “It feels like if he has two games in a row where he doesn’t get a homer, something’s going on.”

There was nothing beyond the fickle nature of baseball to suggest that Judge would go more than two weeks without hitting a home run. Prior to his drought starting on Aug. 26, he hit nine in the previous 10 games.

The 16-game homerless drought has pretty much ended any hope of Judge surpassing his career-high 63 home runs set in 2022. He is capable of hitting them in bunches, but getting 11 more with just 14 regular-season games remaining is very optimistic.

Boston’s pitching had done a terrific job against New York’s lineup prior to the seventh inning. The Yankees had a total of four hits through the first six innings and found themselves in a 4-0 hole.

The first five Yankees hitters reached base in the seventh, capped off by Judge’s grand slam. Luke Weaver recorded a six-out save to preserve the win.

Combined with the Baltimore Orioles’ 1-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees have extended their lead to three games in the AL East. They are also two games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.