Aaron Judge walked to the plate for his first at-bat at Oracle Park on Friday night and was met with a heavy dose of boos.
By the end of the night, he had perfected the role of the villain.
Playing the team he grew up rooting for, and the one he left at the altar in free agency to remain in pinstripes, Judge lived up to the moment by delivering a pair of home runs to lift the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Giants in front of 35,018 mostly agitated fans.
Aaron Judge hits a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, his second of the game, in the Yankees’ 6-2 win over the Giants
“You dream about it in the backyard, playing around a little bit,” Judge said after going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. “Kruk and Kuip [Giants announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper], I’ve heard them for years call the games, hear all the homers Barry [Bonds] hit here. So pretty cool. Happy we could come away with the win.”
Judge crushed a three-run shot to left field in the third inning to give the Yankees (40-19) a 3-1 lead and then extended it to 4-1 in the sixth by drilling a 426-foot blast to center.
McCovey Cove was spared a splash by Judge, at least in the first game of the series.
“Us being here in San Francisco, it felt big,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It felt exciting to be here. And obviously Aaron being from close by here and coming back, tonight had a little extra energy to it anyway. And then he throws a three-ball up there and here we go.”
The two home runs, both off Giants right-gander Jordan Hicks, gave Judge the major league lead alone with 20 on the season.
A ridiculous 14 of those came in the month of May as Judge awoke from a quiet April and wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers.
Aaron Judge celebrates one of his two home runs on Friday night in the Yankees’ win
He also broke away from a tie with Lou Gehrig and became the first Yankee to hit 14 home runs and 12 doubles in a single calendar month.
“What Judgey’s doing is pretty incredible right now,” said Marcus Stroman, who was sharp and efficient across 7 ⅓ innings. “I just think we all need to witness — we almost take it for granted each and every day. But it’s truly, truly incredible what he’s doing.”
After Judge’s second home run of the night, the Yankees fans in attendance showered him with “MVP” chants, which also drew boos from the home crowd.
As for the boos directed at him, Judge said he didn’t know what to expect, “but I didn’t mind it.”
Marcus Stroman delivered a strong outing for the Yankees
The even-keeled Judge admitted that he felt the “pregame anticipation,” which was “tough to control.”
It likely didn’t help that he didn’t hit a single home run in batting practice, which made him nervous, remembering how Bonds used to make the park look small.
But once the game started, he said, he was able to lock in.
Still, as he rounded the bases after his homers, he looked out to the bleachers in left field and remembered the games he spent there as a kid growing up about 95 miles away in Linden, Calif.
Aaron Judge’s return to northern California was a smash
“Just brought back some memories,” Judge said. “But it’s a special place. Grew up a Giants fan, loved coming to games out here, so pretty cool being on the opposite side being on the field now.”
Stroman made sure Judge’s latest feats came in a win, pitching into the eighth inning for the second time in three starts while keeping the Giants (29-29) at bay.
He lowered his ERA to 2.73 in the process.
The Yankees’ west coast trip began in similar fashion last weekend in San Diego, when Juan Soto heard more boos than cheers from the stadium he called home the last season and a half before the Padres traded him.
And of course, Soto answered by crushing a home run in a Yankees win.
Judge took that to another level on Friday.
“He’s our heartbeat,” said Anthony Rizzo, Judge’s close friend. “It’s special every day to get to play with him.”
