2024-08-04 06:25:01
NEW YORK – Having an MVP season, Aaron Judge’s power proved too toxic for Blue Jays manager John Schneider on Saturday afternoon.
After blasting his MLB-leading 41st home run in the first inning at Yankee Stadium, Judge was intentionally walked his next time up.
And that was a unique free pass, coming with two out, nobody on, and the Yanks ahead 4-1 against veteran starter Jose Berrios in the second inning.
“We saw it a little bit in ‘22, maybe,’’ said manager Aaron Boone, referencing Judge’s AL record-setting 62-homer season after the Yankees secured Saturday’s 8-3 win.
“I honestly didn’t feel like seeing him swing,” said Schneider of his decision to pass Judge there. “We talk about being really careful with him,” and being too fine can lead to mistakes.
“(Judge) is in a different category” with his game-changing ability, said Schneider, “so (I) didn’t really feel like watching him swing.”
According to MLB.com, the last batter to be intentionally walked in a game with the bases empty and two out within the first two innings of a big-league game was Paterson’s Glenn Borgmann, who attended East Side High School.
A year before the AL adopted the designated hitter rule, 1972, Borgmann – a career .229 hitter with 16 homers in nine MLB seasons – was intentionally walked to bring up .123 career-hitting pitcher Rudy May in a Twins-Angels game.
Aaron Judge gets the Barry Bonds treatment vs. Toronto
Saturday’s strategy against Judge worked – sort of.
Next batter, Austin Wells, singled to right before Gleyber Torres struck out.
Judge was a bit surprised by that strategy so early in a game, and “hopefully it doesn’t happen again,” said the captain, who went 2-for-3 with two walks – one unintentional – on a steamy Saturday in the Bronx.
But watching his No. 3 hitter getting the Barry Bonds treatment was not a total shock to Boone.
“You kind of understand, you take your shots where you can,’’ said Boone. “I feel like we’re in a better spot now to deal with those things.
“The length of our lineup is really improved over the last few weeks, and Austin’s presence’’ in the cleanup spot has made a difference.
The lefty-hitting catcher is batting .301 .933 OPS in 29 starts since June 6.
Aaron Judge’s first inning magic
For the second straight game, Judge belted a first-inning two-run homer against the Blue Jays, and apparently Schneider felt the need to try a new approach.
According to Sarah Langs’ research, Judge’s 16 first inning homers this year is already tied for the third most in a single season in MLB history.
Already, Judge has matched Babe Ruth (in 1927) with the most first inning home runs in franchise history, and Judge is two homers shy of being the fastest player to reach 300 career homers in terms of games.
After that first at-bat, which followed a Juan Soto single, Judge improved his career stats against Berrios to .355 (11-for-31) with four homers.
“I always want to hit,” said Judge, adding he’s “gone back and forth” facing Berrios since their minor league days.
Berrios also served up homers Saturday to Trent Grisham and Anthony Volpe, who now has five homers in his last 11 games.
Grisham belted a two-run shot in the second inning and Volpe launched a two-run blast in the fifth, as the Yankees won for the sixth time in their last seven games.
“The long ball was big for us today,” said Boone.
