NEW YORK -- The D-backs’ struggles in the Big Apple continued Friday night as they fell, 7-1, to the Yankees in the opener of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.

Going back to their four-game series against the Mets last week, the D-backs have dropped four straight games in New York.

But in fairness, it wasn’t the bright lights of the big city that did in the D-backs on this night. Instead, Yankees superstar Aaron Judge's three home runs and six RBIs were the difference.

• Games remaining (8): at NYY (2), at CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
• Standings update: The D-backs (81-73) hold the No. 2 Wild Card spot. They have a one-game lead over the Cubs (80-74) and a two-game lead on the Marlins (79-75). They are 2 1/2  games ahead of the Reds (79-76). Cincinnati and Miami hold the tiebreaker over the D-backs. Arizona holds the tiebreaker over the Cubs.

“This was just a clunker,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We didn't get anything going offensively. It backed up in a hurry, and we've got to be better. Where we’re at in the season, we’ve been playing good baseball, and I know that these games happen, but we've got to be better.”

Judge put his stamp on the game early when he connected for a three-run homer in the third off Brandon Pfaadt to give the Yankees the lead.

The D-backs know that due to New York's injuries and struggles, Judge is one of the few Yankees hitters who can do real damage. But when he hit his first homer, there were runners on first and second, and Lovullo was not about to intentionally walk the bases loaded. He also did not want to see a pitch that Judge could get his arms extended on.

“The last thing I thought he was going to do is hit a three-run home run on a mistake two-seam fastball,” Lovullo said. “There's got to be better execution on the pitch. If there's better execution on the pitch, better location, I think there's minimal extension like he got. We never ever entertained the idea of walking him or pitching around him. We wanted to attack him and get him out. That was the mindset in that key situation.”

Judge’s second homer came in the fifth, a two-run shot off Pfaadt. His third came in the seventh, a solo blast against Slade Cecconi.

First base was open on Judge’s second homer. But the D-backs pitched to him, and he hit a 1-2 four-seam fastball out to right-center.

“We were trying to go up, show him something different,” Pfaadt said. “He’s a big dude, so you’ve got to go up-up, and we didn’t do that. The second time was definitely the killer -- get him 1-2 and you definitely have pitches to play with.”

It was a disappointing way to start the D-backs’ six-game road trip. But with the Marlins and Reds both losing, the loss didn’t really hurt Arizona much in the standings.

“I know we're going to be fine,” Lovullo said. “I believe in this group. It's just frustrating while it's happening, but it is what it is. We've got to flush it and get ready for tomorrow.”

Whether the D-backs and Yankees play Saturday remains to be seen. Rain is forecast throughout the day in New York, so Lovullo is preparing for all sorts of contingencies.

“We're in a great spot,” he said. “I managed the game at a certain point today to just hang onto some arms, and we're going to be fine. We're going to be ready to make adjustments. This whole thing is going to be extremely fluid over the next 24 to 36 hours, and we know that we'll be ready to play baseball whenever they tell us.”