SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge grew up watching San Francisco Giants games on television and in person, imagining himself throwing long balls like Barry Bonds.
In his first game here, he made his best impression on Bonds.
The judge crowned a spectacular may per homering twice in his first game in San Francisco and the New York Yankees beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday night.
“I think it was bypassing the bases. I kind of looked over to the left side of the field, and being in those stands a couple of times, it just brought back some memories,” Judge said. “It’s a special place. I became a Giants fan. I loved coming to the games here. It’s really cool to be on the opposite side of the field.”
Judge grew up about 100 miles away in Linden and was heavily recruited as a free agent by the Giants in December 2022, but decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year contract worth $360 million.
He got his first chance to step into the batter’s box here during batting practice before the game. He felt at home as soon as it all started, despite the boos that greeted him at every at-bat. But he devoted little time to showing the Giants and their fans what they missed when he passed on them as a free agent.
“I didn’t hit any home runs at BP, so I was a little nervous,” Judge said. “Barry and a lot of those guys back then made it look really small sometimes.”
After hitting a single in the first inning, Judge launched a three-run shot to left field in the third against Jordan Hicks (4-2) and then another solo photo in the sixth, giving him a major league-leading 20 home runs.
“It’s hard to understand what he’s doing,” coach Aaron Boone said. “He kind of does what he wants. He’s so consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and the way he goes about it. It’s really fun to watch.”
Most of that damage occurred in May, with Judge hitting 14 home runs and 12 doubles with 27 RBIs. His 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankees player in a month since Joe DiMaggio had 31 in July 1937 and this is only the eighth time since the end of World War II that any player in the majors has had so many extra-base hits. -base hits in any month.
Judge’s bat helped lead the Yankees to 14 wins in their last 18 games, as they became the fourth team to reach 40 wins before June 1.
He provided more than enough support for Marcus Stroman (5-2), who allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings to get the win. The Yankees tied the franchise record set in 1981 with their 18th consecutive start with a pitcher going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer.
“He’s incredible,” Stroman said of Judge. “It’s hard to put into words, but it definitely gives the whole team a bit of a boost and motivation as he continues to push forward. He’s definitely doing his part. So this makes everyone want more for the team. He is definitely under arrest.”
Hicks had a rare rough outing after allowing one earned run or less in seven of his first 11 starts this season, but gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings against Judge and the Yankees.
“When he’s hot, he’s hard to deal with,” coach Bob Melvin said of Judge. “When you make good shots, he fouls or catches it and waits for a good shot. You throw him a pitch he can handle, that’s what he does with it.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: INF DJ LeMahieu and OF Giancarlo Stanton took the day off to rest.
Giants: INF Marco Luciano was placed on the 10-day IL with a strained right hamstring. The measure was retroactive to Thursday. … INF Casey Schmitt has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. … OF Jung Hoo Lee will have season-ending shoulder surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles. … OF Michael Conforto (right hamstring) began a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Sacramento and SS Nick Ahmed (left wrist) will start Saturday. … OF Ryan McKenna and C Jakson Reetz cleared waivers and were sent to Sacramento. LHP Drew Pomeranz cleared waivers but elected free agency instead of going to the minors.
NEXT
RHP Cody Poteet (1-0, 1.50 ERA) takes the lead midway through the series for the Yankees against RHP Logan Webb (4-4, 2.74). Webb has allowed just two earned runs in his last three starts for San Francisco.
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This story has been updated to correct the number of RBIs for Judge in May to 27 instead of 29.
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This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
