Judge still chasing 61 HR as Yankees sweep Red Sox series with 2-0 win

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New York Yankees 2, Boston Red Sox 0

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees won Sunday night’s game 2-0 to sweep their home series against the Red Sox. While the rain played spoilsport shortening it to six innings, Aaron Judge remained without his 61st home run for the fifth consecutive game.

Aaron Judge has 60 home runs, which is one short of Roger Maris’ record for the American League. He had 1 for 2 and a double on Sunday night. The rain forced the game to be called off as the slugger was set to bat next.

The game officially ended after 98 minutes. Aaron Judge now has to go to Toronto this week to try to get his 61st homer and catch Maris.

If the Yankees beat the Blue Jays on Monday night, they will win the AL East title.

Many of the 46,707 people in the sold-out Yankee Stadium stayed until they heard that the game was over. Earlier they left their seats to stay dry on the concourses and under the overhangs expecting Aaron Judge to bat once the rain was over.

During the delay, Joe G., who didn’t want to give his last name, said, “We’re not leaving.” He came from Pennsylvania and got the tickets as a gift for his 30th birthday last month. This was his first game since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down.

Brian Cassidy, who came from Ocean View, Delaware, also agreed with Joe. He told”

I don’t think we’re leaving. I’d like them to hurry it up, but I don’t think we’re going anywhere.”

Cassidy bought tickets as a birthday present for his dad in the middle of August, and they got to see Judge try to beat Maris’ home run record in person. Cassidy and his father ran to take cover on the walkway separating two decks when the rain started pouring. Patrick said:

“I want to see two, one to tie and one to break.”

Some people booed when the umpires called for the tarp at 9:15 p.m., but as soon as they did, it started pouring heavily inside the ballpark. A heavy storm that went on past 11 p.m. panicked the crowd with loud thunder and lightning.

The game was Judge’s last chance to catch Maris during New York’s 6-0 homestand. The Yankees play a three-game series in Toronto starting Monday night and then come back home for three games against Baltimore next weekend before finishing the season in Texas.

Judge hadn’t hit a home run in four games. Since hitting home run number 60 against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, which started a Yankees comeback in the ninth inning in the first game of the homestand, the four-time All-Star was 4 for 15 but without a home run.

Thursday, he hit a ball 404 feet, which was caught right in front of the center field fence. This was the closest he had come to Maris’ record from 1961.

Judge started the bottom of the first inning with a double inside third base off Red Sox rookie Brayan Bello. The Yankees slugger fought back from a 0-2 count to draw a walk in the third inning before flying out to the center field on a hanging slider in the fifth.

Red Sox’s Rob Refsnyder failed to catch a two-out fly ball as the rain began. Aaron Hicks scored from first base as a result of the error, making the score 2-0.

After that, Bello completed the sixth inning by striking out Oswald Peraza with a called third strike, putting Judge in a position to bat.

As the rain got worse, fans in the stands put on ponchos and opened umbrellas. In foul territory, two umpires had a discussion with the ballpark’s grounds crew, and the tarp was rolled onto the infield.

Amanda Peso, a resident of nearby Westchester, purchased tickets on Thursday and stated that she and her friend Jennifer Lamond, who is a fan of the Red Sox and hails from Manhattan, would wait for several hours for the game to resume. She told:

“I wanted to wait this out because you never know if Aaron’s going to do it tonight. So I’m here to support him. I’m a Yankee fan, period. Regardless of this history thing wasn’t about to happen, I would be here and wait it out likely anyway, because I took tomorrow off for this reason.”

In a complete game that was cut short by rain, Nestor Cortes only gave up one hit and struck out five batters.

Bello also went the full game, giving up one earned run and six hits.

Oswaldo Cabrera hit a double to start the fourth for New York, and he scored when Jose Trevino hit a single with two outs.

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In the first game of a three-game series between the Yankees and Blue Jays on Monday, Luis Severino goes up against Kevin Gausman.

When do you think Aaron Judge will hit No. 61?

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