TORONTO — Tim Mayza is the answer to the newest trivia question: Who gave up Aaron Judge’s record-tying 61st home run?
The Blue Jays left-handed reliever served up the historic pitch in the seventh inning Wednesday night at Rogers Centre, loading the count before throwing a 94.5 mph sinker down the middle that Judge crushed into the Toronto bullpen.
The two-run home run, which tied Roger Maris’ American League and franchise single-season record, broke a tie score and the Yankees went on to beat the Blue Jays 8-3.
Everything to know about Aaron Judge and his chase for the home run record:
Mayza, a 30-year-old reliever, is in his fifth season in the big leagues. He had given up six home runs in 46 ¹/₃ innings this year coming into Wednesday.
It was the fifth time that Mayza had faced Judge in his career and the first time that the Yankees slugger had taken him deep. Judge, who was previously 1-for-3 off Mayza, was intentionally walked by him in the 10th inning Monday in a game the Blue Jays went on to win.
Before Judge got to Mayza for the highly anticipated homer, he had gone 34 straight plate appearances without a home run — his second-longest streak of the season.
Judge’s 61st home run landed in the Blue Jays bullpen, where bullpen coach Matt Buschmann got his hands on it first. Zack Britton eventually walked over from the Yankees bullpen to retrieve the ball with a member of the Yankees’ security team nearby.
Credit: Source link
