Yankees star Judge hits 61st home run, ties Maris’ AL record

Aaron Judge had gone seven games since his last home run, 34 plate appearances of fans quieting to a hush and snapping photos with every pitch.

Then with the score tied in the seventh inning on Wednesday night, he drove a 94.5 mph belt-high sinker to left, a no doubt rocket. He had tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, what many fans consider baseball’s “clean” standard for the sport.

Judge’s two-run homer lifted the Yankees to an 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays and brought relief to the 6-foot-7 slugger, who admitted having to try to block out distraction.

“Getting a chance to sit at 60 for a while there with the Babe was nice,” he said, “but getting a chance to now sit at 61 with another Yankee right fielder that hit 61 home runs and MVPs, world champions, this is pretty cool.”