New York Yankees star Aaron Judge makes baseball history with 50th home run

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has made baseball history, striking 50 home runs in a season for the second time in his career.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 29: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrates his 50th home run of the season against the Los Angeles Angels in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 29, 2022 in Anaheim, California. Michael Owens/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

With over a month left in the season, Aaron Judge hit the 50-homer mark for the second time in his career.

With his one-out blast in the top of the eighth against the Angels at Angel Stadium, Judge became just the 10th player in MLB history to have multiple seasons with at least 50 home runs, the NY Post reports.

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Judge joins baseball legends Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees to hit 50 home runs in multiple seasons.

He also reached the milestone in 2017, when Judge hit 52 as a rookie.

Judge’s next challenge — in addition to battling the Angels Shohei Ohtani for league MVP — will be making a run at Roger Maris’ American League and franchise record of 61 homers, set 61 years ago in 1961.

50. History. @TheJudge44 👨‍⚖️ pic.twitter.com/otSV4E6QUU

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 30, 2022

Judge’s home run was greeted with loud cheers from the announced sellout crowd on Monday night, which was filled with Yankee fans — who booed loudly when Judge was walked twice intentionally earlier in the game.

But it was Ohtani, his main challenger for MVP, who had the biggest blast of the night, as Ohtani’s two-run homer in the fifth put the Angels ahead for good in their 4-3 win at Angel Stadium.

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees celebrates his 50th home run of the season against the Los Angeles Angels. Michael Owens/Getty Images/AFP

Let it fly. Photo: Michael Owens/Getty Images/AFP

Josh Donaldson’s pinch-hit single with two outs in the ninth gave the Yankees some life before Oswaldo Cabrera flied out to deep centre to end it.

It sent the Yankees to their third straight loss after a five-game winning streak that now seems a distant memory.

Frankie Montas gave up three homers — tied for a career high — and for a fourth consecutive game, the Yankees couldn’t score more than three runs.

It left the Yankees seven games ahead of the second-place Toronto Rays in the AL East, which is as small as their lead has been in the division since June 5.

Judge got the Yankees back to within a run, but Jose Suarez — who gave up just two runs in six innings — and the Angels’ bullpen did enough to keep the struggling Yankee offence down.

Gleyber Torres went hitless again and made a careless mistake in the bottom of the seventh, when he failed to touch second base on what should have been an inning-ending double play.

This article originally appeared in the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as New York Yankees star Aaron Judge makes baseball history with 50th home run