Getty

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 01: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on after the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on April 01, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees are rolling, and Monday night in Arlington showed exactly why. A dominant pitching performance. Home runs. The kind of night that has become routine for a team that has lost just once in its last ten games.

New York won 4-2 at Globe Life Field and kept building on one of the best starts in baseball.

The story of the night unfolded in the third inning, when two Yankees sluggers put the ball in the seats within moments of each other. After the game, one of them had plenty to say about what is coming.

Judge and Rice Trade Shots

Ben Rice went first.

The first baseman pulled even by going the other way off Jack Leiter, a 404-foot two-run shot that was his sixth homer across his last 11 games and his 10th of the year. The blast drew him level with Aaron Judge atop the Yankees’ home run leaderboard, if only momentarily.

Judge was not going to let that stand. He answered with a 414-foot shot.

“Yeah, I couldn’t let him catch me in homers so I had to make sure I got one after he did that,” Judge said with a grin.

The dynamic between them has become one of the more entertaining subplots of the Yankees’ season.

“Just trying to keep him motivated,” Rice said postgame with a smile.

GettyARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 27: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees hits a solo home run in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 27, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Judge and Rice in Historic Company

The back-to-back shots put Rice and Judge in rare territory.

With Rice’s 10th and Judge’s 11th home run, they joined an extremely short list. They became only the second Yankees duo to both reach double-digit homers within a team’s first 29 games. The last time it happened in pinstripes was Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle, back in 1956.

Together they have 21 home runs, a figure that exceeds what the Giants, Brewers, Mets, and Red Sox have produced as entire rosters.

GettyST. PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 10: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees, right, celebrates his home run with Aaron Judge #99 against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on April 10, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Fried and Chisholm Keep It Rolling

The offense was not the only thing working for New York.

Max Fried worked six clean innings, holding the Rangers to four singles and two walks while punching out five. Across seven starts in 2026, he has now posted four scoreless outings, continuing a run of dominant pitching that has given the Yankees’ lineup room to operate.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. added to the damage an inning after Rice and Judge, depositing his third homer in five outings to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Yankees are 19-10 and showing no signs of slowing down.

GettyARLINGTON, TEXAS – APRIL 27: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 27, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Final Word for the Yankees

Judge said he has been on a big stretch all year. Monday night was just the latest proof.

Rice and Chisholm are hitting. Fried is dealing. The lineup keeps finding new ways to produce.

The calendar says April. The Yankees are already making history.