Inside The Pinstripes

Aaron Judge Makes MLB History With Home Run in Game 5 of ALDS

Aaron Judge now has more home runs in winner-take-all postseason games than any other player in baseball history.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge continues to make history with the home run ball in 2022.

The slugger belted a solo homer to right field in the second inning in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday.

That home run was the fourth of Judge's career in a winner-take-all postseason game, the most in MLB history.

The solo shot off Guardians left-hander Sam Hentges soared through the air at 113.2 mph, landing in the seats 394 feet away. It's Judge's second home run of the series and the 64th he's hit this year. You may recall that Judge smacked 62 homers in the regular season, setting the new single-season record in the American League.

Judge entered play on Tuesday night with three homers in winner-take-all ballgames in the playoffs. He went yard in the 2017 Wild Card Game against the Twins, the 2018 Wild Card Game against the Athletics and Game 5 of the ALDS in 2020.

Before Tuesday, only four players in baseball history, other than Judge, had three homer runs in winner-take-all games. That list features three Yankees—Didi Gregorius, Bill Skowron and Yogi Berra—along with Troy O'Leary.

One inning before Judge homered, Giancarlo Stanton added his own name to that list.

The slugger sent a three-run homer to right-center field off Guardians right-hander Aaron Civale in the first inning. Stanton has now homered 11 times in 23 postseason games with the Yankees.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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