The New York Yankees were able to pull off a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night to gain a 2-1 series lead in the American League Division Series.
Although they were able to squeak out a victory, there appears to be some concern about Yankees star home run hitter Aaron Judge.
Judge went 0-4 in Wednesday night’s win, and his series stats include only 1 hit in 11 at-bats with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks.
According to B/R Walk-Off, Analyst Jon Heyman reveals his thoughts on Judge’s postseason struggles.
.@JonHeyman weighs in on Aaron Judge's postseason struggles
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— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 10, 2024
Judge’s lackluster 2024 postseason has lowered his already underwhelming career postseason numbers.
In 47 total playoff games played, Judge is batting .203 with 13 home runs, 25 runs batted in, and a .748 on-base plus slugging percentage.
The strikeout rate for Judge in the postseason is also alarming as he has 71 strikeouts in 182 at-bats in his playoff career.
Heyman points out some possible factors causing Judge’s struggles including that it is colder this time of year and typically teams are facing the opposing team’s best pitchers.
It appears that Judge has something going on mentally and may be pushing a little too hard to try and make something happen instead of being patient and waiting for pitches that he can do damage on.
The Yankees will look to clinch a berth in the American League Championship Series on Thursday as they face the Royals in game 4.
Judge will look to right the ship against Royal’s starter Michael Wacha, although Judge only has 1 hit in 20 at-bats against Wacha with 12 strikeouts to go along with it.
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