NEW YORK – Aaron Judge bounded around third base, glancing toward home plate, where a mob of pinstripes waited in the mist. For 11 games, the Yankees' captain had gone without a home run; 11 games without so much as an RBI.
Manager Aaron Boone believed it was only a matter of time before Judge broke out, insisting, “Somebody will pay the price real soon.” On a dreary, rain-soaked Sunday in the Bronx, that bill came due.
Judge connected for the fourth walk-off homer of his career, launching a Kevin Kelly sinker over the wall in right-center field that accounted for the only scoring in the Yankees’ 2-0 victory over the Rays.
“It’s a special moment,” Judge said. “The guys know how much of a grind this season is. I know how much they were grinding all game today; a lot of great at-bats up and down that lineup. I liked what I was seeing all game long, so I think a lot of guys were just really able to pull that one out.”
Judge’s Statcast-projected 363-foot drive gave the Yankees their third walk-off win of the season. It came at the perfect time, providing New York’s first win over Tampa Bay and wrapping an underwhelming homestand that Boone had characterized as “crappy.”
Judge entered Sunday in a 4-for-35 slide; he’d identified the issue as needing to swing at better pitches. His chase rate (25.9%) entering Sunday represented the three-time American League MVP’s highest since his rookie season of 2016 (31.5%).
Yet the Yankees always believe Judge’s next swing is one that can change the story.
“It really always feels like a matter of time,” said Cody Bellinger, whose outfield assist preserved the scoreless tie in the eighth. “This game is so difficult, and he’s literally one of the best hitters of all time. It was just a short little period, but he’s always trying and working.”
And Judge has been squaring up more balls of late. Friday’s loss to Tampa Bay ended on a well-struck Judge flyout, an encouraging sign.
Dancing from first base, pinch-runner Max Schuemann said he wasn’t sure if Judge got all of it.
“The wind was swirling all day,” Schuemann said. “If they made a catch, I didn’t want to get doubled off. If it fell, I probably could have gotten to third. I’m glad it went out.”
The drive would’ve been a homer in three of 30 parks, per Statcast.
“I thought it was kind of to the warning track,” Kelly said, “but he’s a big guy.”
Schuemann’s observation about being doubled off provided a reminder of how the afternoon started for Judge. In his first at-bat, Judge laced a single to left, but he was erased after a rare miscue on the basepaths – doubled off first base on Ben Rice’s liner to right-center.
“Usually, any time Ben Rice hits one in the gap, it’s going to go a long way,” Judge said. “I’ve got to keep my head on a swivel. I was thinking it was going to be in the gap.”
With Ryan Weathers and Drew Rasmussen trading zeros through seven-inning efforts, Judge found other ways to contribute ahead of the homer.
Most notably, Judge dropped to the turf in right field to complete a lunging grab of a Jonathan Aranda fly ball in the eighth that teammates Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham ribbed him was “more of a dive than a fall.”
“Just trying to make a play and do what I can out there,” Judge said.
Bellinger supplied the defensive play of the contest in that eighth. Bellinger’s third outfield assist of the year preserved the scoreless tie when he came up firing on Ryan Vilade’s single to left field, making a one-hop throw to third base that cut down Junior Caminero.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon slapped a tag on the sliding Caminero before pinch-runner Oliver Dunn reached home plate, as confirmed by replay.
“That was all Mac,” Bellinger said. “I picked my head up, and Max had a huge target at third. I threw a pretty nasty sinker to him. He did a great job picking it and putting the tag on.”
For the fifth time this season, the Yankees mustered no run support behind Weathers, who allowed four hits and three walks, striking out four.
“They have a really good lineup that doesn’t swing and miss a ton,” Weathers said. “I thought we did a good job of getting soft contact early.”
After Friday’s loss, Boone had lamented that the Yankees had to find a way to beat Tampa Bay, having opened the year winless in four tries. They did that on Sunday, with a Judge swing that just might be the precursor to one of his classic hot streaks.
“I’m glad we were able to come up with that win there,” Judge said, “and we’re on our way to Kansas City.”