Judge earned the title of "Best Baseball Hitter" with a home run that broke the deadlock

Juan Soto had said this week that it felt very different without Aaron Judge while waiting in the strike zone. But there's one thing to argue about — as the Mets put it, the Yankees captain may really be "the best hitter in baseball."

Judge scored a seven-inning home run at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night to lead the Yankees to a 4-3 win over the Royals. The team completed a three-game sweep against the Kansas Royals, a repeat of last season's American League Divisional Series.

"It's incredible," Cody Bellinger said. He made a brilliant catch in the ninth inning, dispossessing a potentially tie-tying stroke from MJ Melendez to help Fernando Cruz make his first career rescue. "I think in any situation, he will stand out. He's the best player on the planet and it's a pleasure to watch. ”

Right pitcher Clarke Schmidt, who threw 5.2 innings and conceded 3-pointers in his season debut, added: "Obviously he's capable of anything, he's literally Captain America. ”

Judge tied for second in the major leagues with seven home runs, behind Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom (eight). After a slow run in March/April last year, the reigning Midland MVP adjusted his spring training workload in hopes of getting off to a hot start. He did it — four times on base Wednesday and currently leads the major leagues with a 0.409 batting average, a 0.519 on-base percentage and a 0.803 batting average. Yankees coach Aaron Boone noticed that Judge was "preoccupied" throughout the night, noting: "He has a very good judgment on the ball. ”

But Judge hasn't been on a blast since April 4 in Pittsburgh, and after 10 games during that time, he even began to receive jokes from his teammates. "It felt like he's been hitting first and second bases," Schmidt said, "and I told him, 'You've got to hit a home run,' and he said, 'I know, I've hit too many first-base hits.'" It's nice to see him carry the ball out of the wall. ”

Judge said he didn't deliberately pursue a home run when he hit John Schreiber's sinking ball into the right Buffalo Barn in the seventh inning. "I want to get on base, and that's the most important thing – as a center line and a regular second baseman, my job is to step on first base and let my teammates play in the back. If there are people on the base, send them back. ”

The home run helped the Yankees seal the win after Schmidt's solid performance. The Yankees had the strongest rotation in the league during spring training, but injuries to Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (right back muscle strain) have weakened the depths. Schmidt's right shoulder rotator tendonitis also limited his workload, resulting in him being put on the injured list early in the season to regain fitness.

Schmidt, the rotating replacement for Marcus Stroman (left knee inflammation), went through two minor league rehab games ahead of Wednesday's 73-goal game. He hit four hits, two nets and two strikeouts. 'We've lost a player like Kerr who is hard to replace and Gill is coming back,' Schmidt said, "but I've got to step up, the whole rotation. My job is to play as consistently as possible every five days and give the team a chance to win. ”

Salvador Perez hit a first-run from Schmidt in the first inning and didn't get into trouble until the fifth inning when Kyle Isbel hit a second-run hit on his legs and Jonathan India sent back to tie the score.

The Yankees scored 3-pointers in 5 and 1/3 innings from left pitcher Kris Bubic: Anthony Volpe hit a two-run second base in the third inning and Bellinger knocked out a second-base hit in the fourth.

"We know how strong they are," Judge said, "and any time we can win a series against a team that will meet in the future, it will help with the rest of the road trip." ”