
MLS Power Rankings: Following a great week, Nashville continues to rise up
MLS Power Rankings: Nashville SC continues to rise after a strong week!
Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are making history for the Yankees with 17 home runs combined this season. Their performance has significantly impacted American League pitchers and the team's championship aspirations.
NEW YORK â It already feels like a million years ago when Aaron Judge paired up with Giancarlo Stanton to form the new power station in the Bronx. They never delivered the championship the Yankees were dreaming of, but the narrative has lived on.
Juan Soto was next to ride shotgun with Judge in 2024. It was a heck of a summer, all the way to the World Series. But Soto was just using the Yankees for a bigger paycheck and was gone like the wind after one year.
So say hello to the newest iteration â Judge and Ben Rice, who might be the most impactful run producers of all. Theyâve combined for 17 home runs, which not only have American League pitchers scrambling for cover, but have made Yankees history.
The Yankees are listed at +360 to win the American League over on DraftKings. Our comprehensive DraftKings Sportsbook review makes it easy to figure out how to use their platform.
Judge and Rice are only the third Yankees duo to hit at least eight home runs apiece through the teamâs first 22 games, joining Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra in 1956 and Judge and Anthony Rizzo in 2022.
Aaron Judge and Ben Rice have combined for 17 home runs this season.
The Yankees are listed at +360 to win the American League.
Aaron Judge previously paired with Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto before teaming up with Ben Rice.
Their performance has made American League pitchers scramble and has contributed to the Yankees' championship aspirations.

MLS Power Rankings: Nashville SC continues to rise after a strong week!

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âItâs just quality at-bat after at-bat â it doesnât matter whoâs on the mound or what the situation is when (Rice) is up there,â Judge said, before adding, âHeâs at the top of the league right now.â
Judge and Rice played a big role in the Yankeesâ demolition of the Royals this weekend. Sundayâs 7-0 wipeout completed a three-game sweep during which the Yankees scored 24 runs. It was exactly the kind of breakout Aaron Booneâs lineup needed. The Royals did their part in rolling over.
Any thought that the Royals mightâve had about regaining their self-respect following Saturdayâs 13-4 flogging vanished in the first inning. Rice, batting leadoff against left-handed pitcher Cole Ragans, worked a six-pitch walk. That set the stage for Judge, who blasted his ninth home run of the season over the center field wall.
The Royals didnât know it at the time â or maybe they did, given their AL-worst 7-15 record â but the game was over. The Yankees spent the rest of the chilly afternoon rewarding the ticket buyers who stuck it out through a rainstorm that delayed the first pitch for nearly three hours.
What the fans saw wasnât just the Judge-Rice tag team (Rice homered in the second inning), but a fine performance from Ryan Weathers. The left-handed pitcher threw 7 1/3 shutout innings in which he struck out eight while generating 14 swings and misses. Weathers is almost certainly headed to the bullpen next month, but give him credit: Heâs not letting Will Warren push him off the stage without a fight.
The Yankees will get a day off on Monday before their first sampling of crunch time: 22 games in 23 days, starting with a three-game set in Boston. Hereâs a guarantee: None of the opponents on the Yankeesâ upcoming fight card will be as soft as the Royals.
That brings the conversation back to the starting point. Whatâs the best way to maximize the lineupâs few productive cylinders? Obviously, Rice and Judge have to hit back-to-back. But Rice is so dangerous lately â heâs homered in his last four games â heâd be better off protecting Judge instead of the other way around.
Crazy question: Could No. 99 serve atop the Yankeesâ order, with Rice batting second? Judge didnât dismiss it, responding âanywhereâ when asked for a preference in the batting order.
âAnywhere in that first one through nine,â he said. âIt really doesnât matter.â
Thereâs sound logic for a top-of-the-order flip-flop. Except for his nine home runs, Judge hasnât been himself this month. His .223 average is almost 70 points below his career average. Itâs also 115 points lower than Riceâs.
Thereâs no doubt Judgeâs numbers will rise. But whatâs wrong with getting a little help from Rice in the No. 2 spot? After all, Judge has done his best work at the top of the lineup. His .352 career average (45-for-128) includes 13 home runs and a 1.177 OPS. And itâs not like anyone else in pinstripes is tearing it up.
As a team, the Yankees are batting .160 at the top of the lineup, ranking 28th in MLB. The idea is to create as much instant offense as possible, especially while the Yankees are dealing with several black holes. Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm, Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells are all underproducing, which puts significant pressure on an overachiever like Rice.
But the responsibility hardly seems to bother Rice, who is an exit-velocity monster. One member of the organization said of Rice, âHeâs smart but not the point of being an over-thinker.â
âHeâs always going to be hitting homers,â Rice said about Judge. âSo to be able to hit some along with him is cool for me.â
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