Aaron Judge may have come just short of tying Roger Maris‘ single-season home run record for the American League, but he still proved to be useful last night for the New York Yankees as they defeated their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox, to clinch a spot in the postseason.
In the top of the ninth inning, Tommy Pham was leading things off for the Red Sox.
On an 0-2 pitch from Yankee closer Clay Holmes, Pham lined one into the right field corner.
Judge was unable to catch the ball on a fly, as it was slightly out of his reach.
However, he was at least able to get to it.
As Pham took off for second, Judge fired a strike to Isiah Kiner-Falefa just in time to nab him.
Aaron Judge. MONEY.
😳 @MLB pic.twitter.com/x13CX150qN
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) September 23, 2022
Judgement Day Has Come
It may not have been a home run, but it sure brought the same sort of reaction you might see for a home run.
This was an unbelievable throw.
Judge may be known for his bat, but clearly, he’s got a cannon for an arm, and he put that on full display last night as he caught Pham by just a second or two.
Perhaps it shifted the momentum a little bit too.
Everything is already magnified when it’s the Yankees and Red Sox, but especially this time of year.
The pressure didn’t bother Judge.
Pham had no chance on that one.
At the end of the day, the Yankees earned their sixth consecutive playoff berth and brought their magic number to clinch the AL East for the first time since 2019 down to six with 13 games to go.
They lead the Toronto Blue Jays by 7.5 games.
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