By LARRY FLEISHER Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees captain Aaron Judge hit his 359th career home run in the first inning Tuesday night against the Detroit Tigers, breaking a tie with Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth place on the franchise list.
Judge drove a full-count splitter from Casey Mize to right-center field, giving New York a 1-0 lead. The slugger’s 44th homer of the season had an exit velocity of 110.6 mph and traveled 412 feet.
Judge’s milestone shot was one of few highlights for the Yankees, who allowed nine runs in the seventh inning of a 12-2 loss and fell three games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East.
The two-time MVP passed Berra in his 1,127th regular-season game and has seven homers in 31 games since returning from the injured list last month.
“Passing Yogi, it’s pretty special,” Judge said. “All-time great Yankee, what he meant to the organization and even when he was done playing. Being around the stories we heard. He’s the definition of a true Yankee, so anytime you’re on a list with a guy like that, it’s pretty remarkable.”
Judge matched Berra on Aug. 31 in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox when he hit a solo homer against Martín Pérez.
Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (659 homers), Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493) and Joe DiMaggio (361) are ahead of Judge on the Yankees’ career homers list.
“The last few years with what Aaron’s done in this league and the season’s he’s had, he’s been in some rarified air, obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s been these impressive lists or names that he’s up next to, but when you see a career list like that with this organization and where he is right now in the center of it, it’s pretty awesome.”
Judge was selected by New York in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft and homered in his first at-bat with the Yankees on Aug. 13, 2016. Berra was 90 when he died in 2015.
Judge homered in his third game back in right field after not playing the outfield since July 25 because of a strained flexor tendon in his right elbow. He has thrown gingerly since returning to the field but also made a diving catch on a sinking liner by George Springer in the fourth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 victory over Toronto.
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