Judge’s Juice

09/14/2022

By: Jeff Yoder

Good Morning,

We’re taking a break from the football overload to check in on Aaron Judge’s home run pace. Spoiler: He’s raking. The WNBA Finals are all but over, and the Champions League is back. We’ll jump into some early NFL power rankings tomorrow. You can make your Week 2 picks at the bottom of today’s newsletter.

Letter Rip!

 

MLB

Judge Inches Closer

Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

Aaron Judge Blasts 2 HRs in Yankees’ Win Over Red Sox (7-6, 10 Innings)

 

For 61 years, Roger Maris’ 61 home runs has held strong as the American League record. Aaron Judge just put it in jeopardy (if it wasn’t already). Judge smashed his 56th and 57th home runs on Tuesday in the Yankees’ extra-inning win over the Red Sox at Fenway (7-6, 10 innings). He hadn’t hit a home run in five games. As the record-setting season began to slip, he’s back on pace. Judge went yard with solo shots in the sixth and eighth innings, both times tying the game after the Red Sox jumped ahead. It was Judge’s 10th multi-homer game of the year, just one shy of the American League record (Hank Greenberg, 11, 1938). Move over, Maris. Judge has 20 games to hit five more bombs. Can he get it done?

 

Watch: Aaron Judge Hits 2 HRs in Yankees’ Win

 

MLB Quick-Hitters

 

Ryan Rips Royals: Twins’ rookie ace Joe Ryan rolled the Royals with seven innings of no-hit ball, allowing just two walks while striking out nine. Fellow rookie Jovani Moran stepped in and almost teamed up for a combo no-hitter, but the Royals reeled off three runs in the ninth (6-3).

 

Cleveland Rocks: The Guardians held down the Angels (3-1) to claim their league-best fifth straight win on Tuesday. Cleveland (75-65) has taken over the AL Central lead, but the White Sox (73-69) and Twins (70-70) are still on their heels.

 

Dodgers Win NL West: There wasn’t much doubt, but Clayton Kershaw pitched a 4-0 shutout over the Diamondbacks to give the Dodgers the NL West crown. At 98-43, the Dodgers clinched on Sept. 13, which is the earliest since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

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WNBA

Aces On The Brink

Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Aces Take 2-0 Lead in WNBA Finals With Game 2 Win (85-71)

 

Two up, two down. The Las Vegas Aces jumped on the Connecticut Sun early in Game 2 and never looked back. The trio of A’ja Wilson (26 points, 10 rebounds), Chelsea Gray (21 points) and Kelsey Plum (20 points) combined for 67 alone. Vegas shot above 50 percent in Game 2, and the Sun are now facing an uphill climb. The Aces have three chances to close out the Finals and claim their first WNBA title. The series heads back to Connecticut for Games 3 and 4. We could crown the champs on Thursday.

 

Fun Fact: The Aces became the second team ever to have a trio of players post 20-plus points in a WNBA Finals game

 

Watch: Aces Win Game 2 of WNBA Finals

 

Upcoming Schedule

Gm 3: Aces at Sun (Thurs. 9:00 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

NBC Sports: Aces’ Power Trio Leads Las Vegas to 2-0 Series Lead Over Sun

CBS Sports: A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum Make History in Game 2

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SOCCER

Champions League Scoreboard

Photo: Marc Atkins / Getty Images

Shutouts Aplenty in Matchday 2

 

Matchday 2 in the Champions League group stage featured six shutouts in seven matches. A few of those score lines were a little surprising. The lone game that wasn’t a shutout — Liverpool vs. Ajax — ended 2-1 in favor of Liverpool after a late winner from Joel Matip (89’). Sporting surprised Tottenham with a pair of goals after the 90th minute. Both Spanish giants — Barcelona and Atletico Madrid — got blanked by German foes. And the action continues today with more of Matchday 2.

 

Matchday 2 Highlights

Inter def. Viktoria Plzen (2-0)

Sporting def. Tottenham (2-0)

Bayern def. Barcelona (2-0)

Club Brugge def. Porto (4-0)

Eintracht Frankfurt def. Marseille (1-0)

Bayer Leverkusen def. Atletico Madrid (2-0)

Liverpool def. Ajax (2-1)

 

Today’s Schedule

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Celtic (12:45 pm ET)

Milan vs. Dinamo Zagreb (12:45 pm ET)

Rangers vs. Napoli (3:00 pm ET)

Chelsea vs. RB Salzburg (3:00 pm ET)

Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig (3:00 pm ET)

Copenhagen vs. Sevilla (3:00 pm ET)

Juventus vs. Benfica (3:00 pm ET)

Maccabi Haifa vs. PSG (3:00 pm ET)

Manchester City vs. Dortmund (3:00 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: Leverkusen’s Late Goals Sink Atletico in Champions League

ESPN: Liverpool Take Off in Champions League Against Ajax After Matip’s Last-Gasp Winner

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THE STORYLINES

🏈 The Hackett Kick Decision

In March, the Denver Broncos traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and three other players to acquire Russell Wilson. Then they reaffirmed their commitment to Wilson earlier this month with a five-year, $245 million contract extension. Then they kicked. (Yahoo! Sports)

 

⚽️ The USMNT Players in the Champions League

As the number of American talents emigrating to Europe rapidly increases, the number of players in key roles for Champions League clubs continues to rise. In the group stage, there are 10 Americans who are set to play big roles for their club. (Sporting News)

 

⚾️ Aaron Judge Won’t Be ‘Real’ Home Run King

Aaron Judge is fast approaching a 62-HR season that would give him the nod as baseball’s Home Run King. Or will it? Judge might set a new AL record, but he won’t get to Barry Bonds’ mark of 73. (CBS Sports)

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📰 THE HEADLINES

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NFL PICK’EM

Make Week 2 Picks

 

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the rearview mirror, but the fun and games don’t stop. We’re resetting the points on our weekly NFL Pick’Em contest with RunYourPool. If you missed Week 1, you’re still eligible for the Week 2 prize.

 

Make Week 2 Picks