NEW YORK — Aaron Judge had been batting .218 coming into Monday night. The Yankees had lost five straight. The offense was being called lifeless. None of that held up for long.
Judge went deep twice in an 11-10 walk-off win over the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium, ending the skid and dragging a shaky roster to a result it badly needed. By the time the night was over, he had passed Mickey Mantle on the Yankees’ all-time list, tied a teammate on the all-time home run chart, produced the hardest-hit homer in baseball this season, and put himself in company that only Babe Ruth occupies in franchise history.
It was, by any measure, one of the more complete individual performances the Yankees captain has put together in a regular-season game.
First inning, first blast: 456 feet and a statement
The tone was set in the bottom of the first. Facing Angels lefty Yusei Kikuchi on a 2-0 count, Judge drove a two-run shot 456 feet into the left-center bleachers.
The exit velocity on that blast was 116.2 mph, the hardest-hit home run in the majors so far in the 2026 season. MLB analyst Sarah Langs of MLB.com put the number in broader context, noting that Judge now has 20 career home runs tracked at 116 mph or higher under Statcast, which began in 2015. Only Giancarlo Stanton, with 35, and Shohei Ohtani, with 23, have more in the Statcast era.
Jose Caballero followed with a two-run homer of his own off Kikuchi two innings later, stretching the Yankees lead to 4-0 through two frames. Will Warren held the Angels hitless into the fourth. Then the bullpen took over and gave most of it back.
Judge passes Mantle, ties Goldschmidt, and climbs the all-time HR list
The Yankees needed Judge again in the sixth inning, after Mike Trout’s three-run homer off Jake Bird had tied the game at seven. He delivered a solo shot off reliever Shaun Anderson, his second of the night, to put the Yankees back in front.
That home run was the 47th multi-homer game of Judge’s career. It moved him past Mickey Mantle, who had 46, and into second place on the Yankees’ all-time list for multi-homer games. Only Babe Ruth, who did it 68 times in pinstripes, now stands above him in franchise history. Ruth also leads all of MLB history at 72.
The Yankees made it official on their social media account: “With his second homer of the night, @TheJudge44 passed Mickey Mantle for 2nd most multi-homer games in Yankees history.”
The second home run also served a second purpose. It was Judge’s 373rd career home run, tying teammate Paul Goldschmidt, who was on base at the time, on the all-time list. The next player ahead of him is Rocky Colavito at 374.
Most multi-homer games in Yankees history
Judge acknowledged the Mantle milestone but kept the focus on the team. After a stretch where the Yankees were outscored badly and could not string wins together, the record mattered only in the context of winning.
According to Sarah Langs, “Aaron Judge now has 47 career multi-HR games, 3 more than any other player in his first 1,400 games Today is his 1,161st game.”
“That’s special,” Judge said. “I’m glad it came in a win. Hopefully, we can keep going.”
An MLB pace record buried inside a franchise night
The Mantle record was not the only number that stood out Monday. Judge’s 47th multi-homer game also set an MLB record for the most such games through 1,161 career appearances. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner had 39 at the same point in his career. Judge has eight more than that. No player in the history of the sport has produced multiple home runs in a single game this frequently through this stage of a career.
Entering Monday, Judge had four home runs in 15 games with a .218 average and nine RBIs. Four of his six home runs on the season have given the Yankees a lead. He had also homered in his final at-bat of Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay, meaning he arrived in the Bronx on Monday with his swing in the best shape it had been all year.
Talkin’ Yanks noted that Judge is now on pace to hit 53 home runs on the season, matching the total he reached in his third MVP campaign in 2025. That season, he batted .331 with 53 home runs, 114 RBIs, 137 runs and 12 stolen bases in 152 games. He is also one of only four players in MLB history with four 50-plus home run seasons, joining Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth.
Manager Aaron Boone was asked after the game about his captain’s performance, particularly at a moment when the Yankees offense had been under heavy criticism. He called the night “huge” and made the stakes clear.
“Hopefully, we start to see him lock in here as we get rolling. I don’t have to tell you what he means to the offense,” Boone said.
Through 16 games, Judge is now batting .233 with six home runs, 12 RBIs and 14 runs. The Yankees improved to 9-7. The losing streak is over. And the player the franchise cannot afford to be without just had one of the bigger individual nights of his career.
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