ATLANTA — Gerrit Cole had one thought after seeing Aaron Judge hit his 36th and 37th home runs on Wednesday in his 103rd game of the year.
He subsequently asked longingly, "Can we get some padding at Dodger Stadium?"
Naturally, Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe while making a fantastic grab on June 3 at Dodger Stadium, forcing him to miss two months of action.
If that play hadn't occurred, it's impossible to say how different the Yankees' season may have been, but at least in Judge's case, he might have been on pace to hit more than 60 home runs for the second year in a row.
Aaron Boone, the manager, exclaimed, "It's incredible," following the Yankees' 6-0 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
"After the second one, I believe I told [hitting coach Sean Casey or bench coach Carlos Mendoza], 'That's 37 [with] two months out.'
It's amazing to witness. Aaron having that night on the night Gerrit presumably wins the Cy Young award seemed rather appropriate. Quite cool.
Before hitting a long ball off reliever Trevor Richards for his seventh multi-home run game of the year, the first home run was hit off Jose Berrios.
Despite being less than 100 percent healthy, Judge has defied a potential shutdown now that the Yankees are out of the playoff hunt and is tied for third in the American League in home runs.
The Yankees overhauled their strength and conditioning departments entering the 2020 season when they named Eric Cressey their director of health and player performance.