ARLINGTON, Texas — Two Yankees sluggers went back-to-back on Monday night at Globe Life Field. They did it in front of a stunned Texas crowd. And when it was over, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice had not just powered the New York Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Rangers. They had put their names next to some of the greatest power hitters in baseball history.
Rice hit his 10th home run of the year. Then Judge hit his 11th, on consecutive at-bats in the third inning. The Yankees won their ninth game in 10 tries. But the history written Monday night went well beyond one win in Arlington.
Six Yankees and MLB milestones were rewritten.
A duo that has never existed before in April
MLB.com researcher Sarah Langs confirmed after the game that Judge and Rice are the first pair of teammates in baseball history to each reach 10 home runs and 20 walks before the end of April. In any season. For any team. It has never been done before Monday night.
The only other pair to come close was Jim Edmonds and Mark McGwire of the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals, who each had 10-plus home runs and 20-plus walks in their first 29 games. That was a team that generated serious buzz. Yankees’ Judge and Rice just matched them.
Within the Yankees’ own franchise history, only one other pair of teammates reached double-digit home runs in the team’s first 29 games of a season. That was Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle in 1956. That ballclub finished 97-57 and won the World Series.
Max Fried, who delivered six shutout innings for the win, was asked to assess the pair he watches from the mound every five days. He kept it short and honest.
“I’m glad I don’t have to face them, let’s just put it that way,” the Yankees ace said. “Those are two of the best hitters in the game.”
The numbers behind the history
Yankees’ slugger duo Judge and Rice have combined for 21 home runs this season. That total is currently greater than the entire team home run output of five MLB franchises. The Red Sox, Mets, Brewers, Marlins and Giants have each hit fewer as a club.
Their AL leaderboard rankings tell the full story. Judge ranks tied first in home runs, third in extra-base hits and third in OPS at 1.010. Rice ranks fourth in home runs, second in extra-base hits and second in OPS at 1.191. Rice is also second in the AL in slugging at .744. Only the most locked-in hitters in the game post those kinds of numbers through late April.
Rice has also achieved something only two players in Yankees history have done before him. He is the third Yankee ever to reach 10 home runs and 25 runs scored before May. Alex Rodriguez did it in 2007. Aaron Judge did it in 2025. Rice joins that pair Monday night, making the list three players deep in a franchise with 123 years of baseball history.
Aaron Boone described watching the back-to-back homers from the dugout. Rice hit a 404-foot opposite-field shot to the visiting bullpen. Judge followed with a 414-foot blast at 113 mph that landed near where his record 62nd home run landed at this same park in 2022. Boone could not help himself.
“Man, his ball was pummeled,” Boone said. “This is a ballpark, they’ll tell you, it doesn’t yield a lot of home runs. To hit a line drive into the bullpen the other way, impressive. The only thing more impressive was the breaking ball that Judgey rifled into the seats right after him. That was a little bit of a, ‘Hold my beer’ moment.”
Rice and Judge: the personalities behind the numbers
When Judge returned to the dugout after his homer, he joked with his teammate. Rice passed along what the three-time MVP told him.
“So just trying to keep him honest, keep him motivated,” Rice said with a grin. “He’s getting a little complacent, so.”
The Yankees cpatain made clear in his own words what he thinks of Rice’s start. He was asked about watching his first baseman from day to day.
“It’s must-watch TV at this point,” Judge said. “Benny Rice has been our sparkplug all year and he’s going to continue to do that.”
Yankees set 100-year franchise road record
The individual milestones were not the only ones falling Monday. According to analyst Katie Sharp, the Yankees have now recorded 11 or more wins while allowing 40 or fewer runs in their first 16 road games of a season. It has happened only three times in Yankees franchise history, which stretches back to 1903. The Yankees did it in 1917 and in 1958. Monday marked the third time in 109 years.
The Yankees enter Tuesday sitting at 19-10 overall. Their 19 wins through April tie the franchise record for wins through this point in a season, matching the 2024 club. Only the 2003 team, which went 21-8 through April, has more April wins in Yankees history.
Rice’s Statcast numbers help explain why the wins keep piling up alongside the records. The Yankees’ baby bomber is averaging 95.9 mph exit velocity with a 65.5 percent hard-hit rate. His expected wOBA is .453. He is not running on good luck. He is hitting the ball harder and more consistently than almost anyone else in the sport right now.
Records and milestones created on April 27, 2026
| Milestone / Record | Detail |
| First MLB pair ever — 10+ HR & 20+ BB before end of April | Aaron Judge & Ben Rice, 2026 NYY (Sarah Langs / MLB.com) |
| Only 2nd MLB pair — 10+ HR & 20+ BB in first 29 games | 2026 NYY (Judge/Rice); prev. 2000 STL (Edmonds/McGwire) |
| Only 2nd Yankees pair — 10+ HR each in first 29 games | 2026: Judge/Rice; last time 1956: Mantle/Berra (WS champs) |
| 3rd Yankee — 10+ HR & 25+ runs before May | Ben Rice (2026); prev. Judge (2025), A-Rod (2007) |
| Combined 21 HR — more than 5 full MLB teams | Judge (11) + Rice (10) > Red Sox, Mets, Brewers, Marlins, Giants |
| AL slugging leader (through April 28) | Ben Rice — .744 SLG (1st AL); Judge .621 (3rd AL) |
| 3rd time in 109 years — Yankees road dominance | 11+ wins, ≤40 runs allowed in first 16 road games (1917, 1958, 2026) |
| Most Yankees wins through April — all-time | 2003: 21W | 2024: 19W | 2026: 19W (tied 2nd all-time) |
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