DETROIT -- After setting the wrong kind of history, Aaron Judge made it through the Yankees' 13-4 win Tuesday night without striking out. That ended a streak of 37 consecutive games with a strikeout for the rookie slugger, a Major League record.
Before Jacoby Ellsbury pinch-hit for Judge in the seventh inning, Judge racked up three walks and an RBI single. Manager Joe Girardi said despite the optics of the move to pull Judge from the game, thus breaking the strikeout streak, he simply made the move to get the slugger off his feet with an 11-1 lead at the time.
"I figured I'm going to give him some rest," Girardi said. "I might DH him tomorrow, maybe DH one of the other outfielders another day and try to keep him fresh."
Girardi said a big factor in the decision was the fact that the Yankees just played 13 games in 13 days and began another long stretch Tuesday night of 16 straight games. Judge's successful night at the plate didn't hurt, either.

"It's not like he had one at-bat," Girardi said. "He had four at-bats. I figured it's a chance to get him off his feet. If I can get somebody else off their feet tomorrow, I'll do that, too."
Though the streak garnered much attention in the media, Judge insisted all along that it didn't bother him.
"Like I said, I don't think about it," Judge said. "I only think about it when you guys ask me about it."
Despite all the strikeouts during the streak (63), Judge managed a .305 on-base percentage over the 37-game span.
"I've been walking all year," Judge said. "It's a good sign for me. I like to walk, get on base. If you're not going to throw to me, no need to chase and get into bad counts. We've got an unbelievable lineup, so I just get on base and let the guys behind me do their job."