Aaron Judge Goes Long as Yankees Trounce Sox

 Look out everyone Aaron Judge is starting to get hot again. 

After blasting his 52nd home run of the year on Friday with a Grand Slam homer to win it for the Yankees, the AL MVP candidate crushed a two-run blast on Sunday afternoon that propelled the Yankees to a 4-0 lead en route to an impressive 5-2 win over Boston. 

That is now 53 homers for Judge who still has an outside shot in the final two weeks at tying his own career high of 62. We shall see. 

But the biggest news is the Yankees have their slugger hitting well down the stretch. He is hitting .320 over his last seven games, and the Yankees have been winning in the clutch of late. Late inning victories over Kansas City and Boston on this recent home stand should make Yankees fans feel good. 

It should also feel good that New York has now built a three-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. In a crowded American League playoff, the Yankees could use the number 1 seed to their advantage. It will be a harder road in the AL Playoffs without it this year. 

With 13 games to go, the Yankees are in the catbird seat for playoff and division clinchers in the coming days. 

And, hey, the Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots also cliched a spot in the Double-A Eastern League playoffs behind the superlative efforts of Spencer Jones and a revived pitching staff.