SAN FRANCISCO — Nobody has ever hit a ball to the giant glove beyond the left-field bleachers at Oracle Park, a fact that Aaron Judge likely knows.
But the childhood Giants fan-turned-Yankees slugger took aim at it Saturday night.
Judge didn’t quite make it there, but settled for a 464-foot, two-run blast in the first inning that set the tone for another Yankees win, 7-3 over the Giants on a chilly evening by the bay.
Before the night was over, Judge was intentionally walked during a Yankees rally and then started another one late with an infield single to help ice the game.
Coming off a torrid month of May, Judge continued to put on a show in the ballpark he grew up going to and in front of the fan base he inflicted pain on as a free agent when he decided to remain in pinstripes.
With the win, the Yankees (41-19) clinched yet another series victory, giving them 15 through their first 19 series of the season for only the sixth time in franchise history.
Judge’s 21st home run of the season — a night after he crushed two to cap off a 14-homer May — came on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against Giants ace Logan Webb.
He got into a 3-2 count, fouled off three straight pitches and then unloaded on a changeup near the bottom of the zone.
Clinging to a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth, the Yankees gave themselves some breathing room with a two-out rally started by Judge.
The big man legged out an infield single before Alex Verdugo drove him in on a triple to the wall in right-center field.
Giancarlo Stanton followed with the knockout punch, keeping a two-run home run fair down the left-field line to make it a 7-3 lead over the Giants (29-30).
Cody Poteet, called up from Triple-A to take the rotation spot of the injured Clarke Schmidt, gave the Yankees a solid outing.
Despite having been on the injured list at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a blister and not having pitched since May 19, Poteet was mostly sharp, tossing five innings and giving up three runs (two earned).
He allowed only three hits, one being a two-run homer, walked one and struck out six.
After Judge’s early jolt — nine of his 21 home runs this season have come in the first inning — the Yankees added on in the third inning, which involved him getting something akin to the Barry Bonds treatment.
DJ LeMahieu led off the frame with a single before Anthony Volpe smacked a double to left field, extending his career-high on-base streak to 28 games (matching Judge).
Juan Soto drove in LeMahieu with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field, making it 3-0, with Volpe tagging up to third.
Webb then threw a pair of balls to Judge before the Giants decided to intentionally walk him.
Verdugo took advantage, finding the open left side of the infield for a single to push the lead to 4-0.
After Poteet retired the first six batters he faced, he walked the leadoff man in the third inning and quickly paid for it. Casey Schmitt came up next and drilled a sinker on the inside edge for a two-run homer that cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-2.
But Poteet rebounded quickly, retiring the next six batters before allowing an infield single to Heliot Ramos to lead off the fifth inning.
Ramos took second on a throwing error by Volpe, whose throw sailed over Anthony Rizzo’s head, before tagging to third on a fly out.
Brett Wisely drove Ramos on by roping a liner past the dive of Rizzo to pull the Giants within 4-3.