- The Yankees earned a 3-5 victory to improve to a 22-13 record this season.
- After the game, Aaron Judge said he was “very surprised” by the ejection.
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New York Yankees star Aaron Judge was ejected for the first time in his career in front of his home crowd Saturday afternoon.
Judge had a quick turnaround when he struck out and made his displeasure heard in the bottom of the seventh.
Home plate umpire Ryan Blankley tossed the Yankees captain on his way back to the dugout before Judge returned to confront the umpire.
The heated but still measured argument led Yankees manager Aaron Boone to jump out of the dugout to defend Judge and momentarily keep him away from Blankley.
“(I’m) very surprised,” Judge said when asked about the ejection. ‘Especially a 5-3 game, at the end of the game, count 3-2 at bat. You know, like walking away, saying I’m at peace. I have said many worse things.
Aaron Judge was ejected for the first time in his career against the Detroit Lions on Saturday
The umpire confronted home plate umpire Ryan Blankley after the ejection in the bottom of the seventh.
Despite losing their captain, the Bronx Bombers earned a 3-5 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Judge is no stranger to having low strikes called against him, although Saturday’s case came from a 3-2 fastball that appeared to go just outside the edge of the zone. Still, the 6-foot-7 slugger rarely shows his frustration with umpires.
In his first two at-bats on Saturday, Judge recorded a single and an RBI double, scoring both times.
When asked if tension between him and the referee had been growing throughout the contest, Judge replied: ‘No. I have a lot of respect for Ryan and what he does.”
The Yankees still managed a 3-5 win at home to improve to 22-13 this season.
“I know your work is hard,” he continued. “I’ve always supported them because it’s tough back there. So for it to happen that way, I think that’s what bothers me the most. Especially at the end of the game.”
The victory helped the Yankees to a 22-13 record and sit in second place in the American League East after splitting their last 10 games, 5-5.
On the other hand, the Tigers fell to 18-15, ranking fourth in the American League Central.
