Yankees Fall to Orioles Despite Judge’s Efforts

It wasn’t exactly a bird or an airplane soaring over right field on Friday night.

Aaron Judge finally smashed his first home run in a week during a night that celebrated his iconic bobblehead, although the Yankees ended up losing to the Orioles, 5-3, at the Stadium.

Judge appeared to find his groove once again, going 3-for-4 with the 27th home run of the season, even while the team struggled through a 3-2 rough patch.

“I liked his batting tonight,” said Aaron Boone after the game. “He made some adjustments with his hands. Sometimes you can feel a little late getting into that strong position, but it seemed like he found it tonight. I thought he had a lot of good swings.”

Judge has always been a thorn in the side of the Orioles.

With 48 home runs in just 111 career games against Baltimore, he has one of the best records against any team since he debuted in 2016.

“Every day, there are adjustments to make. Honestly, it’s hard to pinpoint,” Judge said. “They have a great pitching staff, and they prepare really well. I might have missed a few fastballs I could have driven.”

The Yankees’ captain brought a .396 batting average into this game, showing he can handle the pressure. This was clear after he contributed with a single in the first inning when the Yankees scored twice, matching Baltimore’s two runs earlier.

Judge also crushed a 2-2 pitch from Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano for a home run from the opposite field, an exciting moment after not having hit one since last Friday against Red Sox Ace Garrett Crockett at Fenway Park.

Orioles manager Tony Mansolino made the strategic decision to intentionally walk Judge when the opportunity arose with a base open and two outs.

In the sixth inning, Judge hit two singles to left field, yet the Yankees couldn’t capitalize in those innings.

He faced tough pitching from Félix Bautista in the ninth inning, marking the Yankees’ seventh loss in their last eight games.

“He’s a tough guy to bat against,” Judge said. “He can reach 100 mph with that splitter combo. Not the easiest at-bat, but he’s the kind of guy you want to face when the game’s on the line.”