Aaron Judge becomes second fastest to 200 home runs

Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 on Saturday.

Aaron Judge swats 42nd HR of the season, 200th of his career

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hits his 42nd home run of the season, which was the 200th of his career, against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

Judge, who became the first player in the majors this season to reach 40 homers Friday, fouled off two breaking balls from starter Jonathan Heasley before sending a 2-2 fastball into the right-center field seats for a two-run drive in the second inning. It was one of his two hits, and he also walked twice.

The 6-foot-7 slugger’s 200th homer came in his 671st career game, just behind Philadelphia‘s Ryan Howard, who achieved the feat in 2009 in 658 games.

Judge has 42 homers this season and is on pace for 67. He is tied with Sammy Sosa and two behind Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire for the most before Aug. 1 in MLB history. Bonds holds the single-season record with 73 homers in 2001.

A free agent at the end of the season, Judge has nine homers and 21 RBIs with a .447 batting average in 10 games since the All-Star break. After hitting just one homer in his first 13 games, Judge has connected for 36 over his last 79 games and is on pace to surpass Roger Maris’ club record of 61, set in 1961.

Reporting by Associated Press.