Aaron Judge tied Roger Morris’ AL record with 61 homers in a season

Toronto — When Tim Maiza threw an errant pitch, Aaron Judge made sure the Blue Jays left-hander was on the wrong end of the story.

Judge tied Roger Morris’ AL record with 61 home runs in a season with a tie-breaking two-run home run in the seventh inning that lifted the New York Yankees to an 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night .

Maiza said he tried to attack the umpire with sinkers in hopes of calling a ground ball, but missed.

“Too many good pitches over the plate for a really good hitter,” Maiza said.

The 30-year-old slugger drove a belt-high 94.5 mph sinker from Maize over the left-field fence at Rogers Centre. At 117.4 mph, it took just 3.8 seconds to land 394 feet from the plate to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.

“When I hit, I thought I got enough, but it’s been a few games since then,” Judge said.

The referee watched as the ball clattered near the front of the stands, just below two fans who had reached over the railing and tried to catch the ball. He pumped his arm before reaching first and exchanged a slap with coach Travis Chapman.

The ball fell into the Toronto bullpen and was picked up by Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Bushman, who handed it to the Yankees.

Judge’s mother and Roger Maris Jr. rose and embraced from their front row seats. He appeared to point at them after he rounded second base, then was congratulated by the entire Yankees team, who hugged him after he crossed the plate.

“As soon as he hit, I was like, ‘OK, that’s not it,'” said Maris Jr. “Then you just have to enjoy him running the bases, give your mom a big hug and just enjoy the moment.”

Judge surpassed Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs in 1927, which was the major league mark until Maris broke it in 1961. All three stars achieved these huge numbers while playing for the Yankees.

Barry Bonds holds the major league record with 73 for the San Francisco Giants in 2001.

Judge went seven games without a home run — his longest streak of the season was nine in mid-August. It was the Yankees’ 155th game of the season, with seven remaining in the regular season.

The home run came in Judge’s fourth plate appearance of the night, ending a streak of 34 plate appearances without a home run.

Judge is hitting .313 with 130 RBIs, also the highest in the AL. He has a chance to become the first AL Triple Crown winner since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.

The Yankees, who had clinched their 20th AL East title the night before, won for the ninth time in 10 games.