04/28/26 12:03:00
Printable Page
04/28 00:02 CDT Aaron Judge and Ben Rice match Yankees greats Mickey Mantle and
Yogi Berra with powerful starts
Aaron Judge and Ben Rice match Yankees greats Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra with
powerful starts
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Baseball Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) --- Aaron Judge allowed Ben Rice to match his home run
total for only a few pitches.
Together, the sluggers have now accomplished something for the New York Yankees
with their powerful starts that only Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra had done
before them.
Rice went 404 feet the opposite way for a two-run shot to left field in the
Yankees' 4-2 win at Texas on Monday night, his 10th homer of the season. Judge
immediately followed by driving a full-count curveball 414 feet to tie for the
MLB lead with his 11th.
"After he hit his, he said, `I'm not going to let Benny catch me,'" Rice said
with a smile. "Just trying to keep him honest, keep him motivated."
They became the second pair of Yankees teammates to each have 10 or more homers
in the first 29 games of a season, joining Mantle and Berra in 1956.
"I'm glad that I don't have to face them, let's just put it that way," said
Yankees starter Max Fried (4-1), who threw six scoreless innings for New York
(19-10).
"Benny's off to an amazing start. Judgie, ho-hum, 11 homers already," manager
Aaron Boone said. "It's a pretty good combo there."
Rice, a 27-year-old first baseman, is hitting .322 with 23 RBIs. Judge is at
.252 with 19 RBIs.
"Just consistent at-bat after consistent at-bat. Like it's must-watch TV at
this point," Judge said of Rice. "He's going to put something in play hard or
he's going to take his walk and pass the baton. It's just impressive to watch,
and I get a front-row seat. ... And, makes my job easier when he does that."
Rice deposited a 95 mph first-pitch fastball from Jack Leiter into the Yankees
bullpen in left-center field to make it 2-0 with two outs in the third inning.
It was Rice's sixth homer in 11 games.
Judge then homered into the left-field seats, the ball landing not far from the
spot he hit his AL season record 62nd homer on Oct. 4, 2022. He also had two
doubles and was hit by a pitch in his other plate appearances.
"Maybe his best game of at-bats. ... On all four times, stings two doubles,
smokes the homer where he just rides out the curveball," Boone said.
And it came a day after Judge also went deep on his 34th birthday.
Judge has hit 260 of his 379 career homers since the start of the 2021 season
and already has four 50-homer seasons.
Rice has 43 homers in 216 career games since his debut in June 2024.
After their fast starts in 1956, Mantle went on to hit a majors-best 52 homers
and Berra finished with 30.
When Rice was asked if he could keep pace with Judge all season, he said he's
relishing the moment now.
"Yeah, I don't know how long this is going to last, but I'm enjoying it. I'm
enjoying it right now being this close," Rice said before reflecting on the
history he now shares with a trio of three-time MVPs: Judge and two Hall of
Fame players.
"It's pretty cool. I definitely would not have anticipated something like
that," he said. "But obviously the three names I'm surrounded with there are
pretty big ones, so definitely very humbling."
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|
