The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners in their series opener on Monday night.
Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge took over the game and gifted his team the victory: he homered two times and doubled to go 3-for-4 with 10 total bases, three runs, and three RBI.
One of the homers was against rookie sensation Bryce Miller; a laser that went out in a hurry and left Judge’s bat at more than 116 mph.
He also sent a double to the wall against Miller, who had never struggled in an MLB start like he did on Monday night.
But there was more to Judge’s game than just offense.
Late in the game, he leaped and robbed Mariners slugger Teoscar Hernandez of a home run of his own with an incredible catch.
What can’t the man do?
After the game was over and everybody went home, Hernandez made a hilarious Twitter post asking Judge: “Why”.
The Yankees star took some time to reply in one of the coolest interactions between players this year.
Brother I’ve seen you hit plenty of HRs over my head over the years! I can have just 1!👌😅 https://t.co/mYkiw9Rm5X
— Aaron Judge (@TheJudge44) May 30, 2023
We always enjoy two players joking around and giving praise to each other.
Hernandez, indeed, has hit home runs against the Yankees over the years.
He started his career with the Houston Astros but received his first real opportunity in Toronto, with the Blue Jays.
There, he blossomed into one of the most prolific power hitters in the American League and used to play the Yankees about 19 times per year until the schedule changed this season.
The two stars have a lot of respect for each other.
Judge won the most recent battle, but the series isn’t over.
