NEW YORK — In Saturday’s game, Aaron Judge accomplished the feat of becoming the quickest player to achieve 350 career home runs. He reached this milestone with a two-run homer against Brad Keller of the Chicago Cubs while playing for the New York Yankees.
Judge recorded his 35th home run of the current season, a two-run shot in the ninth inning. However, this effort wasn’t enough, as the Yankees were defeated by the Cubs with a final score of 5-2 in the Bronx.
“My opinion is simply that he’s performing at an unmatched level,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed following the game.
Judge achieved this milestone in his 1,088th game, surpassing Mark McGwire’s previous record of 1,280 games by almost 200 games.
“McGwire accomplished many impressive things in baseball and is undeniably a legend,” Judge stated.
“It would have been more satisfying if we had secured a victory today. I’ve had the privilege of playing alongside many talented teammates and being part of successful teams, which has allowed me to perform at my best.”
Judge, who celebrated his 33rd birthday in April, made his debut with the Yankees at the age of 24 in 2016. McGwire retired in 2001 at the age of 38 with 583 home runs, currently ranking 11th on the all-time list.
Chicago’s starting pitcher, Matthew Boyd, allowed two doubles to Judge during the afternoon but effectively controlled the rest of the Yankees’ lineup. He emerged victorious in the matchup against All-Star left-hander Max Fried, who exited the game after only three innings due to a recurrence of blisters on his pitching hand.
Boyd (10-3), a first-time All-Star, secured his fourth consecutive start win and his fifth consecutive decision overall. He conceded four hits in eight scoreless innings, recorded six strikeouts, and issued no walks. He threw 62 of his 85 pitches for strikes.
Daniel Palencia, consistently throwing pitches reaching speeds of up to 101.1 mph, secured two outs for his 11th save in 12 opportunities. This performance helped the Cubs break the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
Fried (11-3) struggled, allowing nine of the 18 batters he faced to reach base. He gave up four runs (three earned), six hits, and three walks in three innings, throwing only 39 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
Fried, a three-time All-Star, had previously been placed on the injured list due to blisters on his left index finger in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023. Before this game, he had a 6-0 record against the Cubs.
Nico Hoerner started the game with a triple and subsequently scored on Kyle Tucker’s groundout. Carson Kelly and Ian Happ each hit run-scoring singles in the third inning, surrounding Dansby Swanson’s RBI grounder.
Kelly added a home run in the eighth inning off Jonathan Loaisiga. This marked the seventh home run allowed by Loaisiga over 23⅓ innings, a career-high since his return from Tommy John surgery.
Information sourced from The Associated Press was incorporated into this report.
