Intentional walks are a key strategy in baseball, but they can be frustrating for elite hitters. Despite this, the ultimate goal is winning, as the New York Yankees demonstrated with an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers in a thrilling Sunday game. During the match, the Rangers continued the trend of intentionally walking star hitter Aaron Judge, marking his sixth walk in eight games and 13th of the season. However, Giancarlo Stanton responded with a three-run homer after Judge’s fifth-inning walk, while Juan Soto added two homers, and Judge hit his MLB-leading 42nd home run to secure the win.
“It’s part of the game,” Stanton said regarding teams’ tendency to intentionally walk Aaron Judge. “He’s a generational talent, so it’s expected. It’s on me to make them pay, like today. It’s part of the game, and you just roll with it.
Judge echoed his teammate’s sentiment, noting that last week the Toronto Blue Jays walked him three times in their loss to the Yankees.
“I get on base, and I trust the guys behind me to get it done, and today they did,” Judge said postgame.
With this win, the Yankees reclaimed first place in the American League East, tying the Baltimore Orioles with a 70-49 record. Aaron Judge not only hit a personal MLB milestone but also reached base four times against the Rangers, marking the 41st time this season he’s reached base at least three times in a game.
Giancarlo Stanton had a standout performance with a season-high four RBIs and homered in back-to-back games for the first time since June 11-12 against the Kansas City Royals. This game also marked his 20th home run for the 13th time in his 15-season career, coming just nine games after returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 28 games.
Outfielder Juan Soto also shone, hitting his first homer off Andrew Heaney and his second off Andrew Chafin, bringing his season total to 30 homers for the third time in his MLB career.
