The Yanks' Aaron Judge sniffs three more times in World Series Game 2

LOS ANGELES – If Aaron Judge is the best version of himself, the version that has tormented pitchers all summer on a tear not seen since the peak of Barry Bonds, he destroys the 2-0 fastball, which Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw to him in the sixth inning of the New York Yankees' 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

The 94 mph offering was in the bottom half of the strike zone, in the middle, and was ripe for Judge to feast on. But Judge wasn't celebrating. He didn't even swing. Instead, it was a so-called strike.

“If we're doing well, we can usually fire at it,” Judge said.

Judge fouled out on his next pitch, a low curveball that he also usually gobbles up. Then came the knockout blow: a splinter that shot through his hands. Judge struck out and missed strike three, an alarmingly common result in October for Judge and Yankees.

The presumptive American League MVP went 0-4 with three strikeouts on Saturday as the Yankees opened a 2-0 series lead. He is 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the World Series and 6 for 40 (.150) with 19 strikeouts in 50 postseason plate appearances.

Simply put, his 2022 playoff struggles, which earned him boos from his home crowd after his historic 62-home run season, have impacted 2024.

“I think what it comes down to is just hitting shots and getting a pitch to drive,” Judge said. “You don’t get a pitch to drive, don’t try to make a difference up there. It's the offseason. The guys will make their pitches. They're going to pitch you hard, so I just have to hunker down and do the work. That's what matters, and I'm not doing that at the moment.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge was expanding his strike zone, a problem he said was due to Judge not putting himself in a position to make good swing decisions. In other words, his timing is off. The judge said he was close to correcting his mechanics.

He said his struggles in October were “a little similar” to his struggles earlier in the season, when he hit .197/.331/.393 with 40 strikeouts in 149 plate appearances through May 2. In May, he went 1-4-3, beginning a torrid 125-game stretch in which he batted .357 with 52 home runs and a 1.279 OPS to end the regular season.

“When you have a guy that good, I think it only takes one hit to get him going,” said Yankees right fielder Juan Soto, who went 2-for-4 with a home run in Game 2.

Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said Judge is “down right now – in a good way. He's at the top. “He's giving it everything he's got.” He also noted the human element in Judge's play in his first World Series.

“More than anything, we’re in this spot and you want to do things,” Rowson said. “So sometimes you get a little nervous and just try to do a little more than normal. We have three home games (next). I think coming home will be good for him.”

Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. echoed Rowson's thoughts.

“We're all a little worried, you know,” said Chisholm, who is also playing in his first World Series. “The first two World Series games of our career. So you'll go out a little nervous. I have a feeling when we get home he'll feel more confident and calm down a bit more.” going in front of his home crowd.

Judge has whiffed on 32 of his 59 swings (54%) over the last five games, a staggering result for someone who led the majors in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and wRC+ by just 31 % of his swings. He has 13 strikeouts over the five-game stretch, his most in any five-game stretch since June 2021.

Judge hit home runs in consecutive American League Championship Series games against the Cleveland Guardians, including a tying two-run shot against All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in Game 3. Otherwise, he has a double and three singles and seven walks in the Late season.

Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton, who hit a two-run home run in Game 1, has six home runs and an OPS of 1.098 in October. Soto, who hit the go-ahead home run in Game 5 of the ALCS to send the Yankees to the World Series, is batting .350 with four home runs and a 1.160 OPS in the playoffs. They fueled the Yankees' postseason run.

The Yankees are now waiting for Judge, the third member of the slugging trifecta, to get back on track, pounce on 2-0 fastballs across the plate and impact games. The people around Judge are confident he will. Their championship hopes depend on it.

Stanton said, “He’s going to help us win some games here.”