Aaron Judge comes agonizingly close to hitting record-tying 61st home run after being walked 3 times

The Bronx was on the edge of its seat waiting for Aaron Judge to hit a home run that would break a long-held franchise record on Thursday night’s game between the Yankees and Red Sox.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Judge – who has 4 walkoff home runs to his name – stepped up to the plate to try and add another to his season-long tally. 

On a 2-2 pitch delivered by Matt Barnes, Judge swung and connected with the ball, sending it deep to center field. The ball fell just a few feet short of the wall and landed in the glove of Red Sox outfielder Kike Hernandez.

Yankee Stadium thought it witnessed history as the ball sailed toward the centerfield wall, but instead, it just missed.

At home, the camera attempting to find the ball made it seem like it was launched into orbit, but after finding it falling to the ground, it was all in vain.

Fans on Twitter had a range of reactions – from shock that he didn’t hit the home run, to anger at the camera man.

Fans watching the game reacted as Aaron Judge fell just a few feet short of a home run

Earlier in the game, fans were up in arms as Red Sox pitcher Michael Wacha walked Judge twice in his first two at-bats of the game.

‘[Red Sox manager] Alex Cora said they are going after Judge. They’ve now walked him 3 out of 4 times,’ tweeted baseball writer Jon Heyman.

In extra innings, Yankees batter Josh Donaldson hit a single that scored runner Marwin Gonzalez from second base to win the game 5-4 in ten innings.

With that win, the Yankees have clinched the playoffs for the sixth straight season. They currently lead the AL East by 7.5 games over the Toronto Blue Jays, with the magic number to clinch the division being seven. 

Judge faces Rich Hill on the mound tomorrow night as his chase for home run no. 61 continues.

After going 0-2 with three walks, Aaron Judge tries again tomorrow night against Rich Hill