Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/1/24

CBSSports | Dayn Perry: The calendar had yet to strike July and Aaron Judge found himself halfway to his own American League single-season home run record. A two-run shot in the first inning on Sunday was Judge’s 31st of the season. When Judge set the record in 2022, he didn’t club his 31st dinger until July 14th, so he’s ahead of his clip from two years over. Moreover, he didn’t play particularly well in April. But since then, he’s been on a sustained tear, hitting 25 home runs in 52 games since the calendar turned to May. Buckle up, folks.

MLB | Bryan Hoch: 2024 has been a Tale of Two Nestors. When Cortes takes the mound at Yankee Stadium he is Nasty. When he gets the ball on the road, he’s just nasty. After another rough road performance Saturday, Nestor’s splits are eye-opening. At home: a 1.84 ERA. Away from Yankee Stadium: a 5.63 ERA. Following Saturday’s outing, Nestor identified the need to limit early damage. For any fantasy owners out there, it might be time to think about sitting Nestor when he pitches on the road. At least until this gets sorted out.

New York Post | Greg Joyce: There was much ado about an incident involving Marcus Stroman yelling at Gleyber Torres during what ended up being a 16-5 Yankees blowout win over Toronto earlier this weekend. For skipper Aaron Boone, it rapidly became water under the bridge thanks to the close nature of the Yankee clubhouse. “We’re good. We’re playing for a lot and sometimes that spills over on a given day,” Boone said. “When the room’s strong, you’re able to handle those kind of things.”