Aaron Judge and Ben Rice match Yankees greats Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra with powerful starts

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Judge allowed Ben Rice to match his home run total for only a few pitches.

Together, the sluggers have now accomplished something for the New York Yankees with their powerful starts that only Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra had done before them.

Rice went 404 feet the opposite way for a two-run shot to left field in the Yankees' 4-2 win at Texas on Monday night, his 10th homer of the season. Judge immediately followed by driving a full-count curveball 414 feet to tie for the MLB lead with his 11th.

“After he hit his, he said, `I'm not going to let Benny catch me,'” Rice said with a smile. “Just trying to keep him honest, keep him motivated.”

They became the second pair of Yankees teammates to each have 10 or more homers in the first 29 games of a season, joining Mantle and Berra in 1956.

“I’m glad that I don’t have to face them, let’s just put it that way,” said Yankees starter Max Fried (4-1), who threw six scoreless innings for New York (19-10).

“Benny’s off to an amazing start. Judgie, ho-hum, 11 homers already,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It's a pretty good combo there.”

Rice, a 27-year-old first baseman, is hitting .322 with 23 RBIs. Judge is at .252 with 19 RBIs.

“Just consistent at-bat after consistent at-bat. Like it’s must-watch TV at this point,” Judge said of Rice. “He's going to put something in play hard or he’s going to take his walk and pass the baton. It's just impressive to watch, and I get a front-row seat. ... And, makes my job easier when he does that.”

Rice deposited a 95 mph first-pitch fastball from Jack Leiter into the Yankees bullpen in left-center field to make it 2-0 with two outs in the third inning. It was Rice's sixth homer in 11 games.

Judge then homered into the left-field seats, the ball landing not far from the spot he hit his AL season record 62nd homer on Oct. 4, 2022. He also had two doubles and was hit by a pitch in his other plate appearances.

“Maybe his best game of at-bats. ... On all four times, stings two doubles, smokes the homer where he just rides out the curveball,” Boone said.

And it came a day after Judge also went deep on his 34th birthday.

Judge has hit 260 of his 379 career homers since the start of the 2021 season and already has four 50-homer seasons.

Rice has 43 homers in 216 career games since his debut in June 2024.

After their fast starts in 1956, Mantle went on to hit a majors-best 52 homers and Berra finished with 30.

When Rice was asked if he could keep pace with Judge all season, he said he's relishing the moment now.

“Yeah, I don’t know how long this is going to last, but I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying it right now being this close,” Rice said before reflecting on the history he now shares with a trio of three-time MVPs: Judge and two Hall of Fame players.

“It’s pretty cool. I definitely would not have anticipated something like that,” he said. “But obviously the three names I’m surrounded with there are pretty big ones, so definitely very humbling.”

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New York Yankees' Ben Rice rounds the bases after hitting a tw-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Monday, April 27, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge celebrates in the dugout with the team after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Monday, April 27, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge and Ben Rice, right, celebrate Rice's two-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Monday, April 27, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

NEW YORK (AP) — A chaotic climate phenomenon is intensifying heavy rains and floods in the Southwest, experts say.

A natural warming cycle called El Niño is sizzling Pacific Ocean waters, leaking moisture into the air that can fuel passing storms. Such El Niño events can happen irregularly every couple of years, but scientists say the latest iteration is particularly extreme.

“We’ve had super El Niños in the past, but this is a super duper El Niño,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.

The phenomenon wasn't the only cause of the severe storms, but scientists say it's making heavy rains more likely and intense across the Southern U.S.

Flash floods on Sunday prompted evacuations across northern New Mexico and central Arizona, and a Colorado ski town braced for its main river to rise to catastrophic levels. And just last week, another wet storm subjected southwestern states to days of flooding.

Over 20 trillion gallons of water have fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, according to calculations by former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue.

Experts say this year's extreme El Niño is adding more moisture to the air and shifting atmospheric winds toward the Southwest, creating more ideal conditions for storms.

“The likelihood of big precipitation in the Southwest interior does go up this time of year, but we’re seeing it to a degree we actually haven’t seen before,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The world's oceans have already warmed over time because of human-caused climate change, and the El Niño heats things up even more.

“The fact that the ocean temperatures are already warmer than they were, say, 100 years ago, makes these El Niño situations even more intense,” said meteorologist Randy Cerveny with Arizona State University.

The phenomenon is changing weather patterns around the world: regions including Peru and Ecuador are also seeing record-breaking flooding, Swain said. The El Niño event is expected to peak in December, and experts say its onslaught could continue for months afterward.

To stay safe, experts recommended watching the forecast, planning ahead and heeding evacuation warnings from local authorities.

“We’re not at the peak of the heating in the Pacific Ocean. So yes, we will see more of these particular events,” Cerveny said.

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A pedestrian crosses a flooded road in Flagstaff, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)

Members of the Tucson Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team pull a woman from her car after it became stuck in a flooded wash in Tucson, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Mason Kumet/Arizona Luminaria via AP)

Fr. Matt Lowry ties a bag of sand to help with flooding Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Flagstaff, Ariz. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)

A dog walking pedestrian is unable to use one of the walking paths after heavy rains flood the Continental Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)