Batting Title vs. Triple Crown: Bogaerts, Judge set stage for thrilling finish
Sep. 14—When it comes to power, nobody is in Aaron Judge's stratosphere. The New York Yankees slugger has lapped the field so thoroughly that it now seems only a matter of time before he surpasses Babe Ruth and Roger Maris' storied home run totals.
But that isn't the only historic achievement on the table for Judge, which is why his biggest competitor down the stretch may actually turn out to be Xander Bogaerts.
If Judge can chase down Bogaerts to win the American League batting title, the MVP favorite would likely become the second player in the last 55 years to win the Triple Crown. Tuesday Judge took a big step towards making that possibility a reality when he went 3 for 4 with two home runs, bringing his season average to .310 while upping his astonishing home run total to 57 with 123 RBI and 20 games still to play.
The Red Sox shortstop, for his part, went 1 for 5 with a solo home run of his own in Tuesday's 7-6, 10-inning loss. He now sits at .318, falling just behind Minnesota's Luis Arraez (.319) in the AL batting leaderboard with Judge and Chicago's Jose Abreu tied for third right behind them at .310.
That chase should add an interesting wrinkle to the final weeks, and if Tuesday was any indication of what's coming fans could be in for a treat.
First, with the Red Sox leading 3-2 in the top of the sixth, Judge struck for a game-tying solo home run into the Red Sox bullpen. It was a line-drive, opposite field screamer that few right-handed hitters in baseball have the power to get out at Fenway.
Minutes later Bogaerts responded with an opposite field solo shot of his own, curling one around Pesky's Pole to retake the lead. It was just Bogaerts' 14th home run of the year, but he knew it was gone the moment it left the bat.
Finally, when Judge stepped up again in the top of the eighth, he greeted Garrett Whitlock with a towering leadoff shot onto the Green Monster to tie it once more at 4-4.
Not surprisingly when Judge came up one last time in the 10th, the Red Sox didn't give him a chance to go for three and intentionally walked him instead. He eventually came around to score on Gleyber Torres' game-winning three-run double, but after Alex Verdugo cut into the deficit with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, Bogaerts flew out in his final at bat.
The Red Sox got one more run after Connor Wong scored on a wild pitch, but Wandy Peralta closed out the save to help push New York's division lead back to six games. Triston Casas and Reese McGuire also homered for the Red Sox off Yankees starter Gerrit Cole (six innings, four runs, 10 strikeouts) and Marwin Gonzalez went deep for the Yankees.
For all their obvious differences, Bogaerts and Judge do have a lot in common. They are both the faces of their respective franchises and stand among the top hitters in the league, with Judge (8.7) and Bogaerts (5.5) ranking first and third respectively in offensive wins above replacement. They are both also on the verge of hitting free agency, meaning the pair could conceivably be entering the final few weeks with the only clubs they've ever known.
Time will tell if either player moves on, but if this is it, both have a chance to make their last hurrah a memorable one.
Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com.
Twitter: @MacCerullo.
