Yankees superstar Aaron Judge silenced the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night when he hit a home run against their maple leaf backboard and broke it, a day after he took the heat on cheating charges.
The New York captain stepped up to the plate on Tuesday after coming under fire after appearing to glimpse his Yankees dugout for what the Blue Jays said were indications as to which field would see him in Monday’s game. come.
But the six-foot-tall slugger got his revenge in the next game when he slammed a 448-yard monster of a homer to center field in the eighth inning to help the Yankees lead in their 6-3 win.
The moonshot was so powerful that it ricocheted off the wall and seemed to break the maple leaf on the front signage of the Rogers Centre’s restaurant above the batter’s eye, silencing his doubters in Toronto.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the eighth inning, Judge stared straight ahead at Erik Swanson (2-2) and scored his 11th homer of the season,
Yankees superstar Aaron Judge silenced the Blue Jays with a monster home run on Tuesday night
His 448-foot homer was dead at center field and broke the Blue Jays’ maple leaf backboard
Judge was questioned about watching the bench during an at-bat against the Blue Jays Monday
His 448-foot ride downtown broke off a corner of a white maple leaf beneath the windows of a redesigned social space that opened this year as part of the ballpark’s renovation.
The home run was equally satisfying to his teammates and fans, as it propelled the Yankees into the lead after a tight seven innings and put them on their way to a 6–3 win.
Judge had been booed earlier in the game when he struck out in his first two at bats for the hit, following allegations of stealing plates on Monday, when he hit a pair of solo homers in a 7-4 win.
The Yankees slugger had looked to the side for a moment before running at 114.9 mph from right-hander Jay Jackson.
Judge said he was trying to identify which of his Yankees teammates yelled at plate umpire Clint Vondrak as he peeked into his own dugout before hitting a 142-yard home run in Toronto Monday night.
“There was quite a lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn’t like in the situation,” said Judge. New York led 6-0 at the time and then won 7-4.
Toronto broadcasters noticed Judge peeking into his own dugout before his homer and speculated that he was looking for some sort of signal.
Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez, the veteran Blue Jays broadcast team on Sportsnet, replayed the incident, wondering where Judge’s gaze was wandering.
His drive to the middle in the eighth inning ricocheted off the backboard and broke off a corner of the blade
The homer put the Yankees ahead in the eighth inning and en route to a 6-3 win
‘What is that? Where is he looking?” Shulman said on the live broadcast. And he did it more than once. Did you see what I saw? You don’t want to make accusations without knowing it, but…”
Judge then hit his second home run “a country mile,” in Shulman’s words.
Three pitches earlier, Vondrak ejected Boone for arguing over a low strike call to Judge. Boone came out of the dugout to vent to Vondrak and crew chief Hoye.
Judge said some of his teammates were still voicing their displeasure from the back of the Boone row as his batting continued.
“I feel like after the manager does his thing, it’s like, ‘Guys, our pitcher still has to go out and make a few pitches. We’re in charge, let’s just get to work here,'” Judge said.
“I said a few things to some guys in the dugout and especially after the game. Hopefully it won’t happen again.’
A disgruntled judge also commented on Blue Jay’s pre-game commentary team on Tuesday.
“I have some choice words on that, but I’m just going to keep that off the record,” Judge said before Tuesday night’s game.
On Monday, Aaron Boone had yelled at plate umpire Clint Vondrak during the game
As Boone made his hit off the field, the Yankees team was apparently still calling
It was what Judge said caught his eye just before he hit his huge home run
“I’m not happy about it, but people can say what they want,” he added.
“I have one more game to play, I have things to do. I told you what happened and everyone can tell their own story about it if they want.’
Meanwhile, Judge’s fellow Yankee, Domingo German, wasn’t so lucky, as he was ejected during the fourth inning.
The pitcher had retired all nine Blue Jays batters he faced on 37 pitches, but before he could take the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning, he was intercepted by the umpires.
Domingo German landed in New York with more charges after being evicted on Monday
German was intercepted by the umpires as he took the mound for the fourth inning
They spent some time feeling his right hand and checking his glove for a suspected illegal substance before meeting to discuss their findings.
Their findings resulted in German being suspended, which also carries an automatic 10-game suspension and means the Yankees cannot replace him on the roster.
Ryan Weber (1-0) gave up three hits in 2 1/3 scoreless innings for his first Yankees decision. Wandy Peralta earned his third save. Gleyber Torres had two hits and two RBI’s. Torres and Harrison Bader each drove in a run in the third and Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit his first homer of the season.
Toronto got four consecutive hits with two outs in the fifth. Kevin Kiermaier homered, Bo Bichette hit an RBI double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. chased down Ron Marinaccio with an RBI single.