Aaron Judge homers in 5th straight game as Yankees beat Red Sox

Aug. 3 (UPI) -- New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge homered for a fifth consecutive game to lead his squad to a weekend sweep of the rival Boston Red Sox.

Judge's latest performance featured two long balls and fueled the Yankees to a 9-7 triumph Sunday at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Judge went 2 for 4 with five RBIs, two runs scored and a walk in Sunday's win.

The 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger is 7 for 19 with six home runs and 13 RBIs in his last five appearances. He homered Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday before his duo of dingers in Sunday's series finale against Boston.

"For me right now it's just about not missing my pitch," Judge told reporters. "Pitchers are making really good pitches, but there are times when they leave one over the plate and I have to do some damage on it."

The Red Sox took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer from Xander Bogaerts in the first inning before Judge put the Yankees on the scoreboard.

Judge stepped to the plate with two runners on base in the bottom of the second inning. He settled in against Red Sox relief pitcher Matt Hall and worked an even 2-2 count before the Red Sox pitcher threw in an 88.8-mph fastball.

Judge walloped the pitch to left field for a 419-foot homer. The blast had an exit velocity of 108 mph and left the field in five seconds, according to Statcast.

The Red Sox erupted for three runs in the third frame to take a 5-3 edge. The Yankees answered with RBI doubles from Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to tie the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the third inning.

Bogaerts returned to the plate for his second homer of the game in the top of the fifth frame and Luke Voit homered for the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth. Rafael Devers snatched the lead back for Boston with a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning.

The Yankees' D.J. LeMahieu plated Mike Tauchman with an RBI single to tie the score at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth frame. Judge then settled in against Red Sox relief pitcher Matthew Barnes before he teed off for a go-ahead bomb.

Barnes fell behind in the count 2-0 before he lobbed in an 84-mph knuckle curveball during the sequence. Judge pounced on the pitch and sent it to left center field for a 468-foot homer. The blast had an exit velocity of 107 mph.

Judge is the first Yankees player to homer in five consecutive games since Alex Rodriguez in 2007. He now leads baseball with six homers on the season.

Judge could tie the MLB record for home runs in consecutive games if he goes deep in his next two contests. Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly and Dale Long are the only MLB players in history to homer in seven consecutive games.

The Yankees (7-1) next host the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:05 p.m. EDT Monday at Yankee Stadium, and the Red Sox (3-7) face the Tampa Bay Rays at 6:40 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.