Days after passing Yogi, Judge HRs twice to tie DiMaggio for 4th in Yanks history

NEW YORK -- The old story goes that Joe DiMaggio was initially annoyed by the famous Simon & Garfunkel song that mentioned his name. At the time of the 1968 release of “Mrs. Robinson,” the retired star was still prominent as a pitchman for numerous products, including Mr. Coffee.

Simon later explained it -- directly to DiMaggio, in a chance restaurant encounter -- as a homage to the heroes of simpler times. The pertinent topic is no longer where DiMaggio has gone: it’s who has claimed a spot next to him.

Aaron Judge jolted balls over the fence in his first two at-bats in Thursday's 9-3 victory over the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, collecting his 360th and 361st career homers to equal DiMaggio (361) for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time franchise list. Judge surpassed Yogi Berra (358) earlier on this homestand.

“Just two legends, greats of the game, great all-time Yankees,” Judge said. “It’s pretty cool being on a list with them, but I think it’s even cooler getting a win.”

Babe Ruth hit 659 of his 714 home runs as a Yankee, followed by Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493).

The homers, Judge’s 45th and 46th of the season, give Judge 45 multihomer games -- third on the franchise list behind Ruth (68) and Mantle (46), according to Sarah Langs. That’s the company Judge now keeps.

“Joe DiMaggio -- that feels like that’s been there forever, right?” said manager Aaron Boone. “Joe DiMaggio, in a lot of ways, transcended baseball. To be next to him on the list, he’s going to be waving as he goes by. It’s been a privilege having a front-row seat to that.”

And the significance of the stage was not lost on Judge, who addressed the team after the final out, telling them: “This was more than just a game.”

Wearing the caps of New York City’s first responders on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Judge and his teammates shook hands with President Donald Trump shortly before first pitch, then took the field to -- as Judge said -- “put on a show.”

“It’s a tough day for everyone,” Judge said. “We all know where we were during that time. Getting us all together and showing we’re unified and we’re strong, reflecting the strength that this city showed and the country showed during something like this. We’re lucky to come out here and play.”

Judge’s first homer was a Statcast-projected 413-foot blast off a Tyler Holton cutter in the first inning, coming off his bat at 110.1 mph. He repeated the feat in the third inning against Sawyer Gipson-Long, belting a 434-foot shot to the back of the Tigers' bullpen; that one registered 114.9 mph off the bat.

“He’s probably the best player in baseball,” said Cam Schlittler, who navigated six innings of one-run ball to register his third Major League victory.

Giancarlo Stanton later added a third-inning homer, marking the 56th time the sluggers have gone deep in the same game (including the postseason). The blast gave the Yanks seven players with at least 20 home runs, tying their franchise record (also 2009 and 2019).

• Judge and Stanton join ranks of Ruth/Gehrig, McCovey/Mays as all-time homer-hitting duo

The thunder supported Schlittler, who bounced back from the shortest start of his brief Major League career thus far, looking unflappable doing it.

“With all the pregame stuff, I took a peek at him at one point, right before we were going out,” Boone said. “You can’t tell the difference if it’s a Spring Training game or a big game on 9/11 against a great club. He was locked in.”

Schlittler scattered five hits, walking two and striking out seven. He revealed that he had been tipping pitches from the stretch position against the Blue Jays, calling it an “easy fix.”

“I had some conversations with some of the players in here and coaches,” Schlittler said. “It wasn’t really my initial thought after the last outing, but that was something I needed to make the adjustment for. It’s something I’ve got to keep working on over the next few weeks.”

It was a series of lopsided outcomes for the Yankees, who dropped the first two contests to Detroit by a 23-3 count, then coasted after their early outburst in the finale.

The upcoming weekend brings the conclusion of a 12-game gauntlet against contending clubs, visiting the Red Sox for a showdown at Fenway Park. New York (81-65) paces Boston (81-66) by a half-game for the top American League Wild Card spot.

The Red Sox own the upper hand in the season series with eight wins in the 10 meetings thus far, but Judge said this would be an opportune time to “flush the past.”

“We haven’t had too much success against them, but there’s no better time to change it,” Judge said. “Especially right now, getting near the end of the year, it’s time to really turn it up a notch.”