Watch: Yankees' Aaron Judge smacks 30th homer of 2024 in loss to Mets

June 27 (UPI) -- Aaron Judge continues to shine amid New York Yankees' struggles, hitting his 30th home run of the season to equal his long-ball pace from his record-setting 62-homer campaign in 2022.

Judge went deep in the sixth inning of a 12-2 loss to the rival New York Mets on Wednesday in Queens. The 400-foot blast was his fifth home run in eight games and 24th over his last 45 appearances.

"I'm running out of adjectives and superlatives," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters when asked about Judge. "It's amazing what he's doing."

The Yankees' loss was their sixth in seven games. They will carry a three-game losing streak into a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays from Thursday through Sunday in Toronto.

"It's baseball," Judge said of the Yankees' struggles. "We play 162 of these of these things. You are going to have, throughout the season, good times, bad times.

"But we just have to keep showing up, keep working and we will be where we want to be."

Judge (.309) and fellow outfielder Juan Soto (.303) are the Yankees' leading hitters. Shortstop Anthony Volpe (.266) is the only other Yankee regular hitting above .247. The Yankees lead MLB in walks and top the American League with a .331 on-base percentage.

Judge and left fielder Alex Verdugo were the only Yankees players to record more than one hit in Wednesday's loss. Soto and designated hitter J.D. Davis reached base twice from walks.

Mets starter Sean Manaea allowed just two hits and no runs over five innings to improve to 5-3. Catcher Francisco Alvarez and outfielders Tyrone Taylor and Harrison Bader each homered for the Mets, who completed a two-game sweep of their rivals in what New Yorkers call the "subway series."

Alvarez went 3 for 3 with three RBIs, three runs scores and a walk. Bader and shortstop Francisco Lindor recorded two hits apiece.

Judge took a walk in his first plate appearance and singled in the fourth inning. He came to the plate for the third time in the top of the sixth, with Soto on first base and the Yankees trailing 7-0.

Relief pitcher Danny Young missed the strike zone to start that exchange with the Yankees slugger. He then went ahead 1-2 in the count. The left-handed pitcher tossed in an 81-mph sweeper for his final offering.

Judge obliterated the inside pitch, sending the ball deep to left field. The two-run shot traveled 112.3 mph on its way over the outfield fence, according to Statcast.

The Mets scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning. They added their final two in the seventh and eighth.

Judge set a new American League record with 62 home runs in 2022 en route to MVP honors. He equaled his home run pace from that season by hitting his 30th homer in the Yankees' 82nd game Wednesday.

Judge leads MLB with 77 RBIs, a .712 slugging percentage and 203 total bases, in addition to his league-best homer total. He is on pace for 406 total bases, which would be the highest recorded total since Sammy Sosa (425), Luis Gonzalez (419) and Barry Bonds (411) in 2001.

The Yankees (52-30) still lead the American League East and have the second-best record in baseball, trailing only the National League's Philadelphia Phillies (53-27).

The Blue Jays (36-43) will host the Yankees at 7:07 p.m. EDT Thursday at Rogers Centre.