In the second game of the ALDS, Judge struck out four times. There is a time and a place.
Judge's time as the Yankees leadoff hitter is over for one game.
Judge was penciled in as the second baseman in the Yankees' lineup for Game 3 of the ALCS against the Guardians on Saturday.
He said he is trying to change something.
"I woke up and I wanted to flip that and it's something I've never done before," he said. The judge wanted to shake up his second place in his career.
After Judge started the series in a 0-for-8 slump, the change was made. The series is tied going into the third game. The second baseman will bat first.
Judge is not a traditional hitter and perhaps baseball's greatest power hitter. During his chase of the American League home run record, Judge received a few extra plate appearances due to the increase in the number of times he appeared in that slot. Judge broke a tie with Roger Maris by hitting his 62nd home run.
The Yankees went 23-11 with Judge batting first despite the fact that DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi were injured.
The Yankees struggled to score in the first two games of the series, at least in part, due to Judge's slow start to the game.
"I think he's just a tick off, timing-wise," he said. He's going to string some goodABs together.
During the regular season, he hit.257 with a.310 on- base percentage. He went 4-for-12 in the leadoff slot.
During the first two games against Cleveland, he hit third and second. The batting order for Game 3 indicates that the two big men are rounding into shape after their recent injuries.
"As a team right now, we're just a little more whole than we were 10 days ago, where I feel like Giancarlo was still working his way back, and Anthony was kind of working his way back."
All Rights Reserved © 2024
