Judge, Yankees Fighting Focus on Where They Can Go, Not Where They Are in a Rut – Trentonian

ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge has failed to hit a home run in nine straight games for the first time this season, and the Yankees are below .500 through half the season.

Never mind that Judge leads the major leagues with 51 home runs and the Yankees are only a half-game behind Baltimore for first place in the AL East and the best record in the AL.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I’m sure a lot of people are rooting against us. We’ve got to have it, us-against-the-world, take it, take this position, take this chance to make the playoffs. It’s all about us. We’ve got to do it.”

In a 10-6 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night that marked the Yankees’ third consecutive series loss, New York came within a whisker of closing the ninth-inning deficit from eight points to one.

Wyatt Langford made a game-ending diving catch atop the wall in left field on a 104-mph liner from Giancarlo Stanton with two runners on the field after Trent Grisham’s grand slam with two outs, the night after the Texas rookie’s game-ending slam in the Rangers’ 7-4 victory.

With Judge and Juan Soto both leaving the game in the eighth inning because of a 10-2 deficit, Judge was already looking set for his ninth straight game without a home run — he had two eight-game streaks earlier this season.

“Just don’t think about it, try not to hear it,” said Judge, who was 6-for-34 with two doubles in the three series losses. “I think I heard it earlier in the year, but I can’t do anything about it. I don’t try to hit homeruns.”

The Yankees currently don’t have a solid closer after two-time All-Star Clay Holmes fired a shot off Langford when New York was within a game of winning the series in the middle of Game 1 against the Rangers — Holmes’ 11th blown save, the most in the league.

Boone said there are several options, including Holmes, for another chance to save the day in what he called a short-term situation. The answers to those questions won’t come until Friday at the Chicago Cubs.

Marcus Stroman was 3-0 in his previous four starts before giving up nine hits in 3 2/3 innings in the final game of the series against the Rangers, which was without its two best hitters: Marcus Semien and reigning World Series MVP Corey Seager.

“I think we’re all very process-oriented in this club, so we know what we’re capable of,” Stroman said. “A couple of bad losses don’t change the situation, so it’s just about doing what we’re capable of, going out there, getting some momentum and hopefully taking it to Chicago.”

New York’s 40-41 record dates back to June 1, when it started that day with a 40-19 score. Even then, the Yankees were only two games ahead of the Orioles.

AL Central leader Cleveland (80-60) is also in the hunt for the best record in the AL, tied with New York and a half-game behind Baltimore (81-60).

“We’re right there in front of every opportunity to achieve our hopes and dreams. And that’s because of the whole season we’ve had,” Boone said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position to get it. But if we want to get it, we’ve got to play our best and give it our all with 22 to go.”

In the final game of the series against the Rangers, the defending World Series champions who were all but eliminated from playoff contention this year, the Yankees suffered a pair of upset losses.

Second baseman Gleyber Torres didn’t realize the speedy Langford might try to turn an RBI hit from a single into a double and nonchalantly served the cutoff throw while Langford sprinted to second base behind him. Langford scored on a single right after that.

Reliever Tim Mayza allowed three more runners in the sixth inning, and Mark Leiter Jr. followed with a double before a wild pitch that ended the inning with three runs scored, giving Texas an 8-2 lead.

New York needs two wins to secure a 32nd consecutive winning season. Judge is not concerned about the mediocre play of late.

“We’ve got a long month ahead of us, big series coming up here in Chicago,” Judge said. “All you can do is look forward. You can’t sit back and look back at the games that were last time because they’re just going to build on that. So it’s just about moving forward and getting ready for the next series.”

Originally published: September 5, 2024 at 7:31 AM