WATCH: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani go back-to-back with HRs in Yankees-Dodgers game

The highly anticipated Yankees-Dodgers regular-season series is off to a flying start, with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani making their presence felt early on. AL MVP Judge drew first blood in the contest. However, not to be left behind, NL MVP Ohtani immediately answered back for the defending champions.

Aaron Judge smashed a towering 446-foot home run to dead center to begin the proceedings for his 19th home run of the year. Shohei Ohtani responded half an inning later with his MLB-leading 21st blast of the season, a 417-foot solo shot to left-center field. This is the first time in history that both reigning MVPs recorded a home run in the same inning of a contest.

Expand Tweet

The two superstars are once again the favorites to win baseball's highest individual honor.

The Yankees lead the AL East with a 35-20 record. The team has won five straight games, including nine of its last 10. The Dodgers, on the other hand, hold a 34-22 record that is good for the lead in the competitive NL West.

Although the Bombers have been in better form of late, the defending champions possess an impressive 19-8 record at home, making it difficult for visiting teams to score wins against them at Chavez Ravine.

Yankees skipper gives update on Giancarlo Stanton

Heading into the matchup against the Dodgers, Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided an update on the status of star slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Expand Tweet

Boone stated that Stanton might not be able to return to action next week and will need more time to get his reps up before being reinstated.

The former NL MVP has yet to play a game in 2025 due to tendonitis in both elbows. Although he had a rough regular season, which saw him post a slash line of just .233/.298/.475, Stanton was one of the shining stars during the Yankees' deep run in the postseason last year. He recorded a total of seven home runs and 16 RBIs during the 2024 playoffs.

Since his arrival in the Bronx in 2018, the 35-year-old has dealt with a plethora of injuries. Stanton has just appeared in 663 regular-season games for the Bombers in eight seasons.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

Know More

Edited by Daniel Santiago