New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season against the Colorado Rockies. In the first inning, pitcher Austin Gomber spun an 0–2 slider on the outside part of the plate, and Judge launched it to center field to give the Yankees a 2–1 lead.

Judge, 32, has reached the 50-home-run mark for the third time in his career. He last did so in 2022, when he set the single-season American League home run record with 62 and won AL MVP.

The nine-year veteran added his 51st home run in the seventh inning Sunday as part of three consecutive homers from Juan Soto, Judge and Giancarlo Stanton off Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell in an eventual 10–3 win over Colorado.

It was in his first full season with the Yankees in 2017 that Judge first hit 50 home runs — a season that included making the AL All-Star team, winning AL Rookie of the Year, leading the AL in home runs and winning a Silver Slugger Award.

Judge’s 2024 season has set him up to be the favorite for his second AL MVP award and potentially MLB’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and only the second since 1967.

Canelo Alvarez officially announced his next fight. Alvarez will defend his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles versus Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Alvarez (61–2–2, 39 KOs) choosing Berlanga as his opponent comes with some controversy. The Mexican superstar will reportedly be stripped of his IBF title for not facing mandatory challenger William Scull, which mean he will no longer be the undisputed champion at 168 pounds.

He will, however, be defending his WBC belt despite David Benavidez being the WBC’s mandatory challenger and pursuing a shot at Alvarez since 2022.

However, Alvarez bypassed Benavidez and WBA mandatory challenger David Morrell in favor of Jaime Munguia earlier this year and now Berlanga (22–0, 17 KOs).

Alvarez, 34, defeated Munguia by unanimous decision after knocking him down in the fourth round on May 4. He has 39 knockouts in his career, but hasn’t won via knockout since 2021.

The New York Jets need Aaron Rodgers. 

The Jets are still waiting for a payoff. Everyone knows that Rodgers played four snaps last season before tearing his Achilles. That sets up a 2024 season with extreme stakes. The Jets put all their chips in the middle of the table for a quarterback who will be 41 years old in December and is coming off a major injury, and they’re down to one last shot to get something special out of their Rodgers investment.

The good news is the Jets are set up well to have a huge season. No team should be happy with 7-10 records in back-to-back years, but given how bad New York’s quarterback play was the past two seasons it was a notable accomplishment. The Jets are loaded. All they need is decent quarterback play. That was the story when they traded for Rodgers a year ago. It’s still the story after Rodgers’ injury ruined last season.