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    • Yankees, Aaron Judge is running out of time in the World Series vs. Dodgers
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    Yankees, Aaron Judge is running out of time in the World Series vs. Dodgers

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    LOS ANGELES – When Juan Soto blasted a single into right field in the top of the ninth inning, a paroxysm of jubilant hand gestures and hilarity erupted in the visitors' dugout at Dodger Stadium.

    Of course, the New York Yankees only suffered two hits from Soto against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night, but in the second game of this World Series they were down by three runs and suddenly their most dangerous man, Giancarlo Stanton, appeared in the on-deck circle as Binding run.

    And then Aaron Judge entered the batter's box.

    That would be cause for celebration for the Yankees on almost any day this season. But after waiting nearly a decade to reach the World Series, Judge is in great danger of being eliminated much more quickly, thanks in no small part to his own mistakes.

    Judge faced Dodgers closer Blake Treinen and struck out with his arms on the first pitch, a nasty sweeper that ducked out of the strike zone. Watched the second pitch – a slider that landed on the outside corner. And then, a pitch later, he pounced again on a sweeper well outside and below the strike zone.

    It was Judge's sixth strikeout in nine at-bats this World Series, his 19thTh in 40 at-bats this postseason — and things only looked worse when the Yankees scored the tying and winning runs on base but couldn't bring them home in a 4-2 loss.

    They packed up their host clubhouse at Dodger Stadium for the long flight home, hoping for some rest from Yankee Stadium, where Game 3 will begin Monday night. But a sign of life – a good plate appearance, a hard hit ball, what's the point of a home run? – from their captain and presumptive American League MVP would go much further.

    And Judge, the 6-7 powerhouse who hit 58 home runs and posted a 1.159 OPS this year, knows that better than anyone.

    “I definitely have to go one step further. I have to do my job,” Judge said late Saturday night as the Yankees prepared to leave Los Angeles. “The people around me are doing their job and getting on base.

    “And I let them down instead of supporting them.”

    Two games is not an example, but October can't wait to know such technical details. Judge is now 1-for-9 in this World Series, but the six strikeouts are far more concerning.

    They suggest a hitter who is disorganized, mechanically and at least a little mentally out of control. To a man, the Yankees say Judge doesn't apply pressure.

    But Judge himself brushes off the old adage that he has to take what he's given, and if that's a few walks, then so be it. Whether the pressing defines depends on your perspective.

    “He has time to help us win some games,” Stanton said.

    But how – especially when Judge follows almost everything?

    The 6-6 Stanton puts his hands together – almost in a heart shape – to demonstrate.

    “You have to make your zone so big,” he says. When that happens, you feel like your plate is so big and you have to compress it.

    “He will help us win some games here.”

    In fact, Judge somehow remains confident even when he realizes his mistakes are hurting the team. He says they are close to a solution.

    That sounds great in April, when Judge struggled through a tough month before essentially taking a five-month break to lead the Yankees to the AL East championship.

    How do you save your mechanics, your sanity, when your team is only two losses away from elimination?

    “It’s all about one hit,” said Soto, who hit a home run and had three hits in two games. “I know it's hard, but when you're a batsman like him – and he's one of the greatest – all you need is one hit. An attack in which he is locked up and is present.

    “Every time he hits the ball or takes the throw, it’s going to get him going. For some people it takes a while. But when you have a guy like that who’s that good, all it takes is one hit to get him going.”

    And neutralizing Judge will serve to diminish the Yankees as a whole.

    A club that led the major leagues in home runs and the AL in runs scored suffered four hits in Game 2 – and only Soto's game-winning home run in the third inning over eight innings.

    After Soto touched home plate, tying the game 1-1, Judge was the next batter to hit and sent a harmless fly ball to right field, where Mookie Betts collected it – starting a streak of 11 consecutive batters, which had retired Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

    Yamamoto threw a pitch in the seventh inning, the second outstanding start of the series after Jack Flaherty gave up only Stanton's two-run homer in Game 1. The Dodgers throw them carefully and execute them exquisitely, and that affects the Yankees' best hitter.

    “Sometimes you’d rather make something happen than have the game come your way,” Judge said. “You see Gleyber on base, Juan gets on base and you want something to happen. But if you can't get a pitch in the zone, you'll just have to take your walks and get him ready for Big G.

    “Plain and simple, I need to start throwing punches.”

    He knew this in April when he batted .207 with an OPS of .754 and recovered all of his numbers by the end of the season.

    “It’s all the same,” Judge says. “You just don’t have any more games when it’s here.”

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    Kathleen William
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