1 of 5 | New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge went 2 for 5 with two home runs and three RBIs in a win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday in New York. File Photo by Corey Sipkin/UPI | License Photo
Aaron Judge and Mike Trout provided powerful proof of why they deserve their combined six MVP awards in a battle between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels.
“Every time he comes to the Bronx, man, he puts on a show,” Judge said after the Yankees beat the Angels 11-10 on Monday in New York. “I hate to see it, but it’s fun competing against a guy like that.”
Judge and Trout became just the second pair of three-time MVPs to homer twice in the same game, joining Roy Campanella and Stan Musial (1956). After the contest, Judge lauded the Angels star with the highest complement possible.
“He’s the greatest,” Judge said. “He’s the greatest of all time. He’s been fun to watch his whole career. Coming up at such a young age and instantly putting yourself at the top of the list, it’s special.
“He’s led those boys over there for quite a few years. Just to see him day in and day out show up, I know he has had some tough injuries over the years.”
Judge and Trout each went 2 for 5. Yankees pinch hitter/outfielder Trent Grisham also homered twice, including a game-tying shot in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Judge started the scoring with a 456-foot, two-run homer in the first inning. He added a 398-foot solo shot in the sixth to help the Yankees snap a five-game losing streak.
Trout, who hadn’t homered since the Angels’ second game of the season, walloped a 421-foot, three-run shot in the sixth. He added a 445-foot, two-run bomb in the eighth.
He also nearly homered in his second at-bat of the night with a 393-foot shot in the fourth, but that ball was caught on the warning track.
“I was going to talk some smack to him after the one he hit all the way to the warning track, [telling him he needs to] hit the weight room,” Judge said. “But he answered back with two big homers for them.
“You put that guy in a clutch situation, in a big moment, he’s going to show up every time. It’s fun going back and forth with a guy like that, especially in New York, in the Bronx. I’m looking forward to some more battles the next three days.”
Trout grounded out in his first exchange of the night with Yankees starter Will Warren. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a leadoff double in the Yankees’ first at-bat of the night. Judge settled in against Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi for the next sequence.
He jumped on a 2-0 changeup over the middle, splintering the ball 116.2 mph to left center field for a 2-0 lead.
Shortstop Jose Caballero hit a 370-foot, two-run homer off Kikuchi in the second for a 4-0 Yankees lead. The Angels tied the score with a four-run fourth.
Designated hitter Jorge Soler started the rally with an RBI double in the third at-bat of the frame. Right fielder Jo Adell trimmed the deficit to two with an RBI single two at-bats later. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe singled in another run to make the score 4-3.
The Angels tied the game when relief pitcher Fernando Cruz walked shortstop Zach Neto with the bases loaded. Trout ended the half inning with his fly out to outfielder Cody Bellinger in the next exchange.
Grisham smacked a 355-foot, three-run blast off Angels relief pitcher Shaun Anderson in the bottom of the fifth, but Trout responded with a game-tying blast in the top of the sixth.
That three-run shot to left center came off a 3-2 sweeper from relief pitcher Jake Bird.
Judge gave the lead back to the Yankees with his second homer in the sixth. The Angels tied the score off a sacrifice fly from left fielder Josh Lowe in the seventh. Trout gave the Angels their first lead with his eighth-inning, two-run shot off relief pitcher Camilo Doval.
Grisham hit a game-tying 391-foot, two-run homer off relief pitcher Jordan Romano in the bottom of the ninth. The Yankees scored the winning run when Romano walked third baseman Ryan McMahon with the bases loaded three at-bats later.
“A fun one to be part of,” Trout said, according to MLB.com. “The loss is disappointing, but we fought throughout the whole game and we battled back and had great at-bats all game from up and down the lineup.
“To go blow for blow like that back and forth with both teams, it’s pretty cool,” he said.
Trout has hit .224, with three doubles, four home runs 12 RBIs and a league-high 16 runs scored through 16 games this season. Judge has hit .233 with a double, American League-best six home runs and 12 RBIs through 16 games for the Yankees.
The Yankees (9-7) will host the Angels (8-9) in the second game of the series at 7:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
