The Pirates, who lost their 100th game of the season Thursday night, are an awful team. Harsh as it sounds, there’s no disputing that inescapable truth. Even so, the fact Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have nearly as many home runs (37) as the Pirates’ entire team (38) since August is a remarkable, bordering on unheard-of feat. This tweet, courtesy of New York Times reporter James Wagner, was sent before the second of Judge’s two homers Thursday night.
Stanton and Judge have both been on an ungodly tear, putting the Yankees—who began the second half just three games above .500—on the verge of an unlikely playoff berth. Just two players—Salvador Perez (22) and Marcus Semien (20)—have homered more than Stanton (19) since the start of August with Judge (18 bombs in that span) only a hair behind. Speaking of Judge, the All-Star outfielder did something that hasn’t been done by a Yankee since 2015, swatting two homers of at least 440 feet in the win over Toronto. With help from the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners, the Bombers could punch their Wild Card ticket as early as Friday night.
Stanton, who has been the subject of much scrutiny since arriving in a blockbuster trade four years ago, earned his pinstripes last weekend, obliterating the Red Sox (7-for-12 with three homers and 10 RBI) in a demoralizing three-game sweep. The Yankees finished 5-1 on their road trip, though Judge feels they should have gone 6-0.
The key to New York’s late-season resurgence? Home runs, and lots of ‘em. Armed with prolific power hitters left and right (Stanton, Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez and Joey Gallo, to name a handful), the Yankees have been a juggernaut of late, launching 92 homers since August 1st. That’s the second-most in MLB, trailing only Toronto’s 94, and more than double the Pirates’ output during that span.
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