Judge delivers first pro two-homer game

Aaron Judge has accomplished a lot as a power hitter in his Minor League career, but he still had time to cross off another first on Tuesday.

The Yankees' No. 2 prospect went 4-for-5 and homered twice to register his first career multi-homer game as Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre downed Toledo, 9-2, at PNC Field.

Judge wasted no time getting started. In his first at-bat of the game, he cracked an 0-2 pitch from Mud Hens right-hander Buck Farmer over the wall in left field with Ben Gamel on second. The 24-year-old added another in his next plate appearance two innings later, an opposite-field shot over the right-field fence off Farmer

Although Judge had 47 home runs over 321 Minor League games -- including eight in 61 games with the RailRiders a season ago -- the 6-foot-7, 275-pound slugger was aware a multi-homer game had eluded him for three seasons.

"Usually, I'm one and done," Judge told the Times Leader. "I just try to go up there and get a good pitch to hit and do some damage."

MLB.com's No. 27 overall prospect continued to do just that, even after the two home runs. He lined a single to left in the sixth, then beat out a single to short in the eighth and scored on Tyler Austin's two-out double. It marked his second four-hit game of the year, the latter coming back on April 12.
Judge's performance impressed New York first baseman Mark Teixeira. Making a rehab appearance in his recovery from a knee injury sustained in early June, the big leaguer went 0-for-3 with an RBI while batting behind the 2013 first-round pick.

"I love Aaron Judge," Teixeira told the paper. "Physically, you don't see guys like that. He has a lot of potential."

Judge has given a glimpse of that during the month of June. The Fresno State product has hit .338 with 14 RBIs over 19 games, while his five home runs in that span have moved him into a third-place tie in the International League with 12.

A higher contact rate may be behind the surge as Judge has fanned just 15 times while drawing 14 walks in the last 19 games. The California native is striking out in 23.6 percent of his plate appearances this season, nearly five percent lower than his 28.5 percent mark in the second half of 2015.

"Hopefully, he can have a nice long career in the Bronx," Teixeira said.
Luis Cessa (2-1) gave up a run on five hits and a pair of walks while fanning five over 5 1/3 frames to win his second straight start for the RailRiders.

Farmer dropped to 0-3 after surrendering seven runs on eight hits on two walks in four innings.
Detroit's No. 11 prospect Dixon Machado doubled, singled and plated a run for Toledo.