Aaron Judge or Cal Raleigh? Race for AL MVP hots up as both men swat two homers to inspire the Yankees and Mariners
The race for AL MVP honors between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh is set to go to the wire
Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh remain in an intense battle for American League MVP honors after another impressive night for both men.
Judge swatted two home runs to move to 51 for the season as the New York Yankees continued to hunt down the Toronto Blue Jays in the fight to finish top of the AL East with an 8-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
His first shot meant he joined an elite group that contains Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa as the only major leaguers to record four seasons with at least 50 home runs.
Raleigh matches edge with double shot
By way of response, Raleigh helped the Seattle Mariners clinch the AL West with his 59th and 60th home runs of a remarkable season in a 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
It is the first time since 2001 that the Mariners have won a division crown and edges Raleigh closer to breaking Judge’s AL record of 62 homers in a single season.
The switch-hitting catcher said: “To do it [clinch the division] in this fashion, on this night, in front of these fans, mom and dad, obviously, was really cool.
“It’s 20-plus years since we’ve done something like this, and it’s special. It’s special to this group, to this organization, to the city.”
Yankees can’t ease up yet – Judge
While Seattle can now relax knowing they will receive a bye through to the division series, the Yankees are still trying to overcome the Blue Jays for supremacy in the East. The teams are now tied at the top of the standings with four games left but Toronto hold the tie-breaker.
“If we just take care of what we do, we’ll be where we want to be,” Judge said. “Our goal to start the season ultimately is to go out there and win a World Series, get back there, but it starts by winning your division. That’s our goal. We just got to keep it moving forward.”
Judge has been pivotal in the Yankees’ recent run that has seen them win 10 of their last 13 games, batting .439 and hitting seven home runs over that period.
“I feel like the last couple of weeks he’s really started to swing the bat really well again,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And having just really good at-bats, night in and night out, at-bat after at-bat.”