The Yankees’ offense looked anemic for most of their 4-2 loss in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night, and Aaron Judge mainly looked at the board forlornly.
The presumptive AL MVP went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Saturday. In the first two World Series games, Judge went 1-for-9 with six strikeouts. He is now 6-for-40 (.150) in the postseason with two home runs and six RBIs to go along with 19 strikeouts.
What’s going on with the Yankee Captain? According to him it is simple.
“Just expanding the zone, that’s what it really comes down to,” he said after the game. “You have to get a pitch in the zone and drive it, and if you don’t do that, don’t try to make something happen.
“Just lock in your zone and let the game come to you. See Gleyber [Torres] go to the base, Juan [Soto] get to the base. If you don’t, you need to take a walk and prepare for Big G. I need to stop swinging at strikes.”
While Judge will likely win the MVP award after the best season of his nine-year career, 2024 has been marred by slumps. We saw it at the beginning of the year when he entered May hitting .207/.340/.414.
When asked if it’s different to wrestle in October compared to April, Judge said it’s “all the same” but you don’t have games to get out of the slump and it has to come sooner.
“I have to get up and do my job. The guys around me are doing their job to get on base and they can’t get it backed up,” he said. “We have to turn it around in Game 3.”
The Yankees return to the Bronx on Monday for Game 3, where they look to turn the series around and ignite their bats again. In the first two games, the Yankees are 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and have left 17 men on base.
Despite being in an 0-2 hole, the Yankees remain confident they can turn the tide.
“We’ve got a good ball club. If you can’t get it done at the plate, you’ve got to do something on defense, try to find a way to get on base,” Judge explained. “Every at-bat, flush it and move on to the next one. Guys are going to keep picking me up, but I’ve got to get up and pick them up too.”
“I think this is his first World Series too. We’re all a little worried, you know,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said of Judge’s struggle. “The first two games of the World Series in our career, so you go out there a little bit anxious and I feel like when we get home he’ll feel more confident and he’ll calm down a little bit more when he goes out into the home crowd.
“The swing still looks the same, just a slight difference in timing. That’s all I can see.”
Chisholm, who entered his first World Series on a cold streak, has picked up the ball and is 3-for-9 with three stolen bases. As for the Yankees’ second-best hitter this season, Soto, he hasn’t had a slump. The left-handed slugger is hitting .350/.460/1.180 this postseason and is 3-for-7 with two walks and a home run in the World Series.
From one great hitter to another, Soto believes it won’t take much for Judge to get things going.
“It’s all about one at-bat. It takes one at-bat to stick and play on it,” Soto said. “Every time he hits that ball or takes a pitch or whatever, it’s going to get him going. At the end of the day, it takes some guys a while, but when you have a guy like that that’s that good , it only takes once.” -bat to get it going.”
“We’re getting close, we’re getting close,” Judge said of his timing. “I had some good at-bats in the last game but couldn’t transition into this game. I have to be disciplined in my strike zone, that’s what’s put us in this position all year. I’ve got to get back to that.”
The Yankees and Dodgers meet in Game 3 on Monday.
