New York Yankees 3, Los Angeles Angels 4
Aaron Judge hit his 50th home run of the season, but Shohei Ohtani also homered as the Angels beat the Yankees 4-3 on Monday.
Both AL MVP candidates performed before a sellout crowd that included many Yankees fans. Ohtani’s 29th homer broke a 2-all tie in the fifth inning.
Judge hit a 434-foot home run in the eighth inning of Ryan Tepera, which made the score 4-3.
The California-born slugger became one of 10 players with multiple 50-homer seasons. Pete Alonso broke Judge’s rookie home run record with 53 in 2019.
It’s just another number, Judge said. It’s great, but I’m kind of upset about the loss.
Mike Trout made a running catch in deep center to end the Yankees‘ ninth-inning rally with a runner on first.
Judge was intentionally walked twice before going deep despite late “MVP!” chants. He’s chasing Roger Maris’ 1961 Yankees record of 61 homers.
I’m not downplaying it, Judge said. I don’t like talking numbers.
New York has lost three straight on the road despite leading the AL East by seven games over Tampa Bay. The struggling Angels have won four straight.
The Yankees only scored two runs and had three hits while Angels starter Jose Suarez (5-6) was on the mound. For his fourth save, Jimmy Herget got two outs.
Frankie Montas (4-11), acquired from Oakland earlier this month, allowed three homers. In six innings, he allowed four runs and eight hits.
Luis Rengifo and Mike Ford, who used to play for the Yankees, both hit home runs for the Angels. Ohtani, the two-way star who won the AL MVP award last year, also homered.
New York’s Anthony Rizzo also hit a home run.
Rizzo, who was dropped to sixth in the order, hit a solo home run to right field in the fourth to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.
The lead didn’t last long. In the bottom half, Ford hit a home run to tie the game. It was his first of the year.
Rengifo’s second-inning homer put the Angels ahead 1-0. His 11th homer was a career high.
DJ LeMahieu’s sacrifice bunt in the third brought home Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Starting the inning, Kiner-Falefa walked.
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Jameson Taillon (12-4, 3.89) pitched well for the Yankees in his last outing, allowing just one earned run over six innings in Oakland.
