Juan Soto hits 40th homer, Aaron Judge drives in 4 runs as Yankees thump Mariners 11-2

Juan Soto hits 40th homer, Aaron Judge drives in 4 runs as Yankees thump Mariners 11-2

Juan Soto launched his 40th home run of the season and 200th career on Tuesday night, and the New York Yankees advanced to the verge of securing a postseason place with an 11-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Aaron Judge scored four runs in his first two at-bats.

With a win over Seattle on Wednesday, the Yankees can, at the very least, secure a wild-card spot in the American League. With the victory in the first game of their six-game road trip, the Yankees have extended their advantage over Baltimore in the AL East to four games, the most since June 7, when play began.

We are aware that this pitcher will be difficult to beat, but maybe we can go out and win it  completed and mark off the opening goal,” Aaron Boone, manager of the Yankees, stated. However, it isn’t finished yet. All we have to do is sort of keep going.

Three batters into the game, Judge crushed a two-run double; an inning later, he was up again and added a two-out, two-run single. Judge now leads the league with 136 RBIs.

In the third inning, Soto contributed to the offensive frenzy by hitting Seattle starter Bryan Woo with two outs and two runs scored in the opposite field. For the first time in his career, Soto has hit a 40-home run, and he has now done so in each of the 30 MLB parks.

Reaching a new professional milestone is an amazing experience. It’s very awesome that all the work I’ve been doing is paying off, Soto remarked.

Soto and Judge, along with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig (1927, 1930, 1931), and Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (1961), are the third pair of Yankee teammates to both hit 40 home runs in a season.

It’s a privilege. It’s difficult to truly describe. You’re talking about baseball legends there, Judge stated.

Judge, Soto, and Gleyber Torres, the top three batters in New York’s order, combined for a 7-for-8 game, four extra-base hits, and six RBIs against Woo.

Woo had not allowed a run in his two career starts against the Yankees. This time, he let up Jasson Dominguez’s first home run since undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he was hit for a season-high seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. This led to his elimination surgery last September.