AARON JUDGE: THE SHINING STAR IN A SLUMPING LINEUP
By Marc Auker
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge has taken the baseball world by storm this season. As a rookie, Judge has put himself into the All-Star and Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award conversation – spearheaded by his league-leading 26 home runs. Led by Judge, the Yankees went into their June 24 matchup against the Texas Rangers leading Major League Baseball (MLB) in runs per game and homeruns per game. Judge was up to performing to those standards, as he scored the sole run for the Yankees in a loss to the Rangers 8-1.
Apart from Judge’s 432-foot blast in the sixth inning, the rest of the Yankee lineup struggled against Texas pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx, who was making just his fourth MLB start. The 8-1 loss marked nine losses for the Yankees in their last 11 games. Lineup-regular Brett Gardner was off duty on Saturday after being New York’s hero on Friday by tying up the score of the series opener against the Rangers in the bottom of the ninth, setting up a walk-off win in the tenth inning.
Gardner’s absence certainly didn’t help the case for the rest of the slumping Yankee offense. Left fielder Aaron Hicks, another Yankee All-Star candidate, has seen his batting average drop to .288 since late May. Second baseman Starlin Castro and designated hitter Matt Holiday, two offensive staples for the Yankees, are also slumping in June.
With his teammates underperforming, Judge has seemingly put on a red cape and set out to try to save the day. In June, Judge is batting .329 with nine home runs. There seems to be no signs of slowing down as he’s hit three of those nine home runs in the last five games. As June winds down, the rest of the Yankee offense is surely looking to turn things around and finish out strong.
Judge will look to continue his offensive dominance when the Yankees wrap up their series with the Rangers on Sunday, June 25 in New York.
