It will be, as Aaron Judge put it, “the race of the century.”
OK, not really. But when Judge went deep for his 26th homer of the season Sunday afternoon, getting things going in what turned out to be an 8-3 Yankees thumping of the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, he tied his smaller teammate Brett Gardner. Just four batters later, also in the first inning, Gardner crushed his 27th round-tripper, into the right-field second deck.
So Gardner, who has played in 136 games and tallied 477 at-bats, brings the lead over Judge, who has played in 98 games and tallied 364 at-bats, on the road as the Yankees close their regular-season schedule.