Aaron Judge caps off spectacular May with another 2 HRs, 4 RBIs - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Aaron Judge grew up watching San Francisco Giants games on television and in person, imagining himself launching long balls like Barry Bonds.

In his first game here, he did his best Bonds impression.

Judge capped a spectacular May by homering twice in his first game in San Francisco, and the New York Yankees beat the Giants 6-2 on Friday night.

«I think it was rounding the bases. I kind of looked out to left field and being out in those bleachers a couple of times, it just brought back some memories,» Judge said. «It's a special place. Grew up a Giants fan. Loved coming to games out here. So pretty cool being on the opposite side of on the field.»

Judge grew up about 100 miles away in Linden and was heavily recruited in free agency by the Giants in December 2022, but he decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.

He got his first chance to step in the batter's box here during batting practice before the game. He felt right at home once it started despite the boos that greeted him each at-bat. He took little time to show the Giants and their fans what they missed out on when he spurned them in free agency.

«I didn't hit any home runs in BP, so I was a little nervous,» Judge said. «Barry and a lot of those guys back in the day made it look pretty small at times.»

After hitting a single in the first inning, Judge launched a three-run shot to left field in the third against Jordan Hicks (4-2) and then another solo shot in the sixth to give him a major league-leading 20 homers.

«It's hard to wrap your brain around what he's doing,» manager Aaron Boone said. «He just kind of does his thing. He's just so consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and the way he goes