NEW YORK — When the Los Angeles Angels finished their four-game series at Yankee Stadium this week, they left behind a set of numbers that belong in a different era. Aaron Judge hit three home runs in the series. Mike Trout hit four. Together they put the Bronx through something not seen since 1962, and did it in a way that had never happened before in the history of the sport.
The series closed Wednesday night with another Yankees walk-off, 5-4 on Jose Caballero’s two-run double off Jordan Romano in the ninth. Judge had his third homer of the series, a solo shot in the first off Jack Kochanowicz, the 375th of his career. Trout answered with his fourth mark on the week with a go-ahead two-run blast off Luis Gil in the fifth.
The larger story of this Yankees-Angels series was the week as a whole. The record that Judge and Trout set required a deep trip into Yankees and baseball history to find a comparison.
The series record that stands alone
Judge and Trout each hitting three or more home runs in the same series makes this only the second time in MLB history that two multiple-MVP players each reached three or more homers in a single series. The previous instance was July 1962, when Mickey Mantle hit five and Roger Maris hit four in a Yankees series against the Kansas City Athletics.
That was between Yankees teammates. This week, for the first time in baseball history, two multiple-MVP players each hit three or more homers in a series as opponents, with Judge representing the Yankees and Trout the Angels.
The series also produced Monday’s 11-10 Yankees walk-off, in which Judge and Trout each homered twice in the same game. That was only the second time two three-time MVPs each went deep twice in the same game, first since Stan Musial and Roy Campanella did it on June 21, 1956. It was also the fourth time all-time that two multiple-MVP players each hit two-plus homers in the same game, per MLB research.
A Bronx first since 2013
Trout finished with four home runs across the first three games, becoming the first visiting player since Miguel Cabrera in 2013 to homer in three consecutive games at the current Yankee Stadium. Judge hit three homers in three games while carrying a Yankees lineup that was otherwise searching for production.
The series is only the second time two multiple-MVP players each hit three or more homers in a single series. The previous instance was July 1962 when Mantle hit five and Maris four for the Yankees against Kansas City. That was between teammates on the same Yankees club. Judge and Trout did it as opponents.
Trout spoke after Monday’s game with the perspective of someone who recognized the rarity of what was unfolding over those nights.
“It was great. That’s baseball for you,” Trout said. “To go blow for blow like that back and forth with both teams, it’s pretty cool.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, asked after Wednesday’s win to describe watching both superstars go at it across four games in the Bronx, gave the most direct assessment possible.
“You’re watching two first-ballot Hall of Famers put on a show this week,” Boone said. “It’s been impressive. I’m hoping we can slow the other show a little bit.”
After Monday’s Yankees walk-off, Judge was asked to put Trout’s career in context.
“He’s the greatest of all time,” Judge said. “It’s been fun to watch his whole career, coming up at such a young age and instantly just putting yourself at the top of the list.”
The numbers that frame the week
Trout finished with four series homers. He had hit five total entering the week, so he nearly doubled his season output in four days. It was his first three-consecutive-game homer streak since 2019.
Judge’s three series homers pushed his season total to seven, still leading the AL. His first-inning shot Wednesday was the 375th of his career. His 456-foot Monday blast off Kikuchi was the hardest-hit homer of the 2026 season at 116.2 mph. His 47 career multihomer games are one more than Mickey Mantle among Yankees all-time and second only to Babe Ruth’s 68.
Trout also weighed in after Monday’s slugfest, speaking from the perspective of a player who knew both teams had just been part of something uncommon.
“It was great. That’s baseball for you,” Trout said. “To go blow for blow like that back and forth with both teams, it’s pretty cool.”
The Yankees won the series two games to one behind two walk-off wins. The record books belong to both sides. In four games at Yankee Stadium, a Yankees captain and an Angels legend combined to produce the most home runs by two multiple-MVP opponents in a single series that baseball has ever seen.
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