NEW YORK – This Yankees loss isn’t because of Aaron Judge’s incredibly broad shoulders.
In some ways, none of them really do.
Judge, the world captain of this great franchise, never deserves to be the scapegoat for any defeat. The Yankees are where they are and could get where they hope to go in large part because Judge is a generational force. Blaming the goose that laid the golden eggs seems a bit ungrateful, misguided.
But fair or not, Judge’s poor playoff streak, which continued Monday in a disheartening 4-2 loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the ALDS, evokes a narrative both vague and inevitable. A 1-for-7 performance so far this fall has pushed Judge’s postseason line to a disappointing (by his immense standards) .208/.311/.449 in 46 games. He now owns the highest strikeout rate (34.3%) in playoff history.
Doubts about Judge’s ability to shine on the biggest stage are growing from whispers to questions, however silly.
“I mean, baseball is hitting. I got one hit and one walk in one game,” Yankees captain Aaron Boone said of Judge in his postgame press conference. “I understand it, but hitting is difficult. “You’re not going to hold him back for long.”
The questions, for both Boone and Judge, come with the gig. It’s part of it. They understand this reality. Judge has caused chaos at Yankee Stadium countless times during his springs and summers. He has made history time and time again. However, the presumptive American League MVP has yet to achieve a signature postseason moment or a World Series trophy. Until you do, the wonder will continue.
Boone and Judge also know that Judge is just a man, as conveyed by Boone’s frustrated and stupefied tone during the press conference. Few other Yankee bats shined on Monday either. Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres were hitless. Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s garbage-time home run in the ninth was the team’s only extra-base hit of the night. Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón recorded only 11 outs.
Judge’s forgettable 1-for-3 with a walk didn’t doom the Bombers.
“He’s been on base three times in the first two games,” Boone continued. “It’s not that easy. It’s baseball. Hitting is a game of failure. He will have more opportunities and I will continue to bet on him.”
Aaron Boone on Aaron Judge against the Royals this season:
“It’s not that easy. It’s baseball. Hitting is a game of failure. He will have more opportunities and I will continue to bet on him.” pic.twitter.com/KPDt8ZNWuN
– Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 8, 2024
The Yankees had a sleepy performance on Monday, although they started off with a shake.
Rodón began proceedings with an electrifying first entrance that enraged and excited the crowd. It started with a Maikel Franco strikeout, freezing the Kansas City third baseman in a knee-high heater. An energetic Rodón roared off the mound as Franco struggled back to the dugout.
Out No. 2 came on a fly ball, a rocket-powered four-seam ball that beat star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. The Yankees starter, jostled by the striped faithful, nodded arrogantly to himself and then he seemed to shout, “Oooh, come on.” Come on, guys.” A late-inning punch from Vinnie Pasquantino, this one with a funky slider, elicited a wagging tongue and wide eyes from the flame-throwing starter.
Rodón held off the Royals in the second and third, and the Yankees drove in a run in the bottom of that frame, but the juice ran out in a disastrous fourth inning. The Yankees left-hander fell behind the leadoff hitter, Salvador Pérez, after bouncing the star backstop with a pair of sliders. The next breaking ball, a dull spinner, found the strike zone. Unfortunately for Rodón, it also found the barrel of Pérez’s bat and, after 5.4 seconds, the left field seats.
“Trust the field and attack. “That’s the mentality I wish I had,” the beleaguered starter explained after the game. “Obviously, I want to be better than that.”
Pérez, surrounding the bases, waved his arms like a bird in flight. That long ball was the fourth home run of his career against Rodón, and pushed his career OPS against the left-hander above 1.500. The caster with dark eyes and pursed lips shook his head in frustration.
His night was about to get even worse.
Three more hits and two more runs later, Rodón was out of the ballgame. He recorded a total of 11 putouts in his first playoff start in pinstripes. Kansas City came out of the frame with a 4-1 lead. From there, New York threatened but could not break through. The score did not change until Chisholm reached the yard line to start the ninth.
That top-deck shot from the Bahamian restored some hope to the home crowd’s imagination, reducing the lead to two. Surprise first baseman Jon Berti singled off Royals closer Lucas Erceg with two outs. That sent Gleyber Torres in as the tying run, but the Yankees second baseman grounded out to end the threat and the game.
A symphony of moans rose above the first notes of Sinatra’s “New York, New York” as the Kansas City players shook hands and exchanged “yeses.”
The series now moves to Kauffman Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday. It will be the Royals’ first home playoff game since the 2015 World Series. The Kansas City skyline will provide warm comfort to this road-weary Royals team, which has not set foot in the City of Fountains since September 22.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have been sleeping in their own beds since that same date. After Monday’s game, Judge and his teammates packed their equipment into navy blue duffel bags. Now they hit the road for the first time in more than two weeks.
With their loss on Monday, a return trip to the Bronx is no longer a guarantee. In October, the stakes come quickly.
