He yankees They were three outs away from being shut out for the sixth time this season, and continued their streak of offensive ineptitude that led to them playing .500 baseball in their final 10 games.
But in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Tigers James Foleyone of the best relievers of this season, a Aaron judge The leadoff single gave the Yankees some life on Friday night. It wasn’t a home run or a tying or game-winning hit, but it rejuvenated a Yankees offense that has been struggling mightily.
“When Judgey leaves, we all leave. He is a very important part of our offense.” Antonio Rizzo he told YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits after his hit. “He is our Captain. He is our leader. For him to get along was a huge sigh.”
The rest of the team echoed the Friday night hero’s sentiments.
“I was trying to exhale all night. “It’s definitely a good way to start,” the Yankees manager said. Aaron Boone he said with a smile. “Good job by Aaron setting the table for us and then some really good at-bats to take it from there.”
It was just the Yankees’ third hit of the game and Judge’s only hit of the game. Three more blows would follow. The first was a Alex Verdugo simple touch, a Giancarlo Stanton double to tie the game, and a single by Rizzo to sends the Bronx crowd home happy.
“It’s important for Judge to get along there,” Stanton said. “Dugie had a great at-bat and for him to step up and give me a chance to drive him in was a great moment.”
The Yankees needed the victory on Friday. In the midst of playing 17 straight games, the Yankees lost three of four in Baltimore to start the week. In that series, New York scored only six runs and the batters were not named. juan soto He hit just .145 in Baltimore.
After eight scoreless innings on Friday, it looked like more of the same for the Yankees, but Judge got to work and the team hit the ground running.
“With this offense, it takes one man to keep going. And we have to keep working,” Rizzo said. “Winning like this when we’re not clicking is something important in the future. “I know it’s just one game, but every game matters.”
“After a difficult series, we need to right the ship, we need to get back on the right track. Having the eight blank again was hard, but the most important thing is to maintain that positivity,” Verdugo explained. “We had our captain starting that innings the right way. Every time you have the leadoff hitter, it’s a completely different vibe… we just have to get him out there.”
Friday’s win was great for getting the Yankees back in the win column, but this team has struggled to maintain that offensive intensity this season.
The Yankees hope this can push Judge to hit like the former MVP that he is. So far this season, Judge is hitting just .200 with a .336 OBP.
With two more games against Detroit before a much-needed day off, a win like Friday’s could be the spark that gets the Yankees and Judge scoring runs again.
“We have a lot of good hitters,” Boone said. “It’s been a slow week for us, but you hope something like this can light that fire a little bit and get the offense going.”
