Aaron Judge goes for home run record: Yankees slugger strikes out twice, still one HR behind Roger Maris

Judge has failed to hit a homer in his last three games, but he'll get another chance at No. 61 on Saturday in the Bronx

NEW YORK -- New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge remains in search of his 61st home run on the season. Judge went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts in Friday night's win over the rival Boston Red Sox (NYY 5, BOS 4). Since hitting his 60th home run Tuesday, Judge is 3 for 10 with two doubles, four walks and four strikeouts in three games.

Judge is of course chasing Roger Maris' American League single-season home run record. Maris swatted 61 homers with the 1961 Yankees. Judge very nearly tied Maris on Thursday, when he sent a fly ball to the warning track in dead center field. Here is the AL's single-season home run leaderboard:

1. Roger Maris, 1961 Yankees: 61
2. Aaron Judge, 2022 Yankees: 60 and counting
3. Babe Ruth, 1927 Yankees: 60
4. Babe Ruth, 1921 Yankees: 59
5. Jimmie Foxx, 1932 Athletics: 59
6. Hank Greenberg, 1938 Tigers: 59

It must be noted Judge is chasing more than Maris' record. He's also in the hunt for a Triple Crown. He leads the league with 60 homers and 128 RBI, and the 1 for 4 effort Friday lowered his league-leading batting average to .3154. Xander Bogaerts, who did not play in Friday's game, is second with a .3136 batting average.

New York has 12 games remaining, and it should noted their homestand ends Sunday. Judge is running short on time to tie (and break) Maris' record in front of the Yankee Stadium faithful. The Yankees visit the Toronto Blue Jays for three games next week, then return home for three games with the Baltimore Orioles next weekend. That is their final home series of the regular season.

The Yankees and Red Sox will continue their four-game weekend series Saturday afternoon. Boston will send righty Nick Pivetta (10-11, 4.35 ERA) to the mound. Judge is 5 for 11 (.455) with two homers, four walks and one strikeout in his career against Pivetta.

Friday's win improved the Yankees to 92-58 on the season. They lead the AL East by eight games in the loss column and can clinch the division as early as Sunday.