Aaron Judge reaches 50 homers for fourth time as Yanks tie for AL East lead by beating White Sox
Aaron Judge tied the Major League record by reaching 50 home runs for the fourth time, hitting a pair of long balls as the New York Yankees regained a share of the AL East lead for the first time since July with an 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
Max Fried (19-5) won his sixth straight start and became the Major Leagues' first 19-game winner.
New York (90-68) has won seven of eight, moving a season-high 22 games over .500 and getting to 90 wins for the seventh time in the last eight full seasons. The Yankees, who had not held a share of the division lead since before play on July 3, are tied with Toronto atop the division with four games left. The Blue Jays, who have lost six of seven, hold the tiebreaker.
Judge's 50th homer, a three-run drive off Jonathan Cannon (4-10), gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the second inning. He added a solo shot in the eighth against Cam Booser. Judge hit 52 homers as a rookie in 2017, an AL-record 62 in 2022 and 58 last year. The only other players with four 50-homer seasons were Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
Trent Grisham added his 34th homer for New York.
Chicago has lost 10 of 11 and reached 100 defeats for the third straight year, tied for second-most in the AL behind Washington's four in a row from 1961-64. In the NL, Colorado has topped 100 losses for the third consecutive season.
New York used a Fried-Rice battery for the first time, with the All-Star left-hander pitching to Ben Rice. Fried lowered his ERA to 2.86, allowing four hits in seven innings. Chicago got its run on Lenyn Sosa's second-inning sacrifice fly.
Key moment
Judge's first homer made this the third season with four Major League players reaching 50, after 1998 and 2001.
Key stat
Fried is 6-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last seven starts.
Up next
Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (17-9, 3.04) and White Sox RHP Davis Martin (7-10, 4.03) start Thursday night's series finale.
Dan Campbell’s brutally honest assessment of Lions should scare rest of NFL
The Detroit Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL this season. Even after losing both of their coordinators this offseason, Detroit seemingly hasn't lost a step. They come out of their bye week with a 5-2 record, scoring key wins against some of the top contenders in the process.
If the Lions are to be believed, they still aren't playing to their full potential. Head coach Dan Campbell believes that Detroit still has another gear this season. The Lions HC said that they could stand to be better at playing complementary football over the course of the season.
“I really believe we haven't played our best ball yet collectively in all three phases,” Campbell said, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “And that's really what we're trying to get to here is how can we sharpen ourselves. We know it's going to take every phase. Every game's different, and one unit may have to pick up the slack, but we need to start playing complete ball across the board. And just keep improving — like with all these teams that we're in the race with right now. So, that's where we're at.”
The Lions have highlighted four key areas for improvement during their bye week. That includes their third-down efficiency on both sides of the ball. Detroit is ranked 22nd in third-down conversion rate this season with just 37.7%, far below their 47% rate last season. On the other side, they're allowing a similar third-down conversion rate on defense, which is higher than their 32.5% rate last year.
The two other areas that the Lions focused on during the bye week are their red zone defense and Jameson Williams' involvement on offense. While Detroit's defense has been generally solid this season, it's allowing a whopping 63.6% of its opponents' red zone trips to end in a touchdown. On the other hand, Williams has had an up-and-down season thanks in large part to his fluctuating target rate. Detroit's offense is at its best when the threat of Jamo downfield opens up the rest of the offense. Finding ways to get him in space is going to be crucial for this team moving forward.
The Lions open the second half of their season with a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings at home. Will Detroit apply what they've installed during the bye week in their next games?
