A night that was mostly a failure overall for the Yankees was made almost ridiculous by Aaron Judge.
The end result was a 9-7 loss to the Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field, but Judge closed it out with a grand slam in the eighth inning for his 29th career home run and 81st game of the year.
“Every time he steps up to bat, you know something good is going to happen,” said Juan Soto, who hit his 19th homer in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 6-1. “He’s an unbelievable player, so you try to get on base every time he hits, because you know something is going to happen.”
Judge said former teammate Harrison Bader surprised him by appearing to chase the ball down right-center field, but the ball traveled straight to the bullpen and became a 390-foot shot from Reid Garrett.
Judge also added an RBI double, a walk and a hit by pitch, reaching four bases on base for a league-high ninth time this season.
The season is half over, and after a quiet first month, Judge is batting .304 with a 1.128 OPS and is on pace for 58 home runs.
“It’s incredible. It’s incredible,” Pete Alonso said before the game. “Obviously, he’s known for his power, but what’s most impressive is his discipline at the plate and his ability to hit line drives consistently. I think that’s one of the most underrated things about him. Obviously he’s one of the best players in the world, but I think his ability to control the strike zone is often overlooked. He’s a line drive hitter with incredible power, which is why he’s not only hitting a lot of home runs, but also batting average well.”
The addition of J.D. Davis doesn’t mean the end of Ben Rice against left-handed pitching.
The Yankees acquired the right-handed hitter Davis in a trade to bat against left-handed batters and play first base, but manager Aaron Boone said it won’t be a simple platoon of Davis and the left-handed hitter Rice.
“I like how Rice is at bat,” Boone said Tuesday before the Yankees lost to the Mets. “I think he’s coming into his own here against lefties. It’s a tough matchup for him this week, but I don’t want to put him against every lefty in his first two weeks in the big leagues, but I’ve been really happy with how he’s at bat.”
Rice, who was promoted last week after veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo was placed on the disabled list with a broken arm, entered Tuesday’s game batting just 5-for-17 (.294) with a .675 OPS.
He entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and singled off right-hander Adam Ottavino.
Soto was hit foul on the top of his left foot by a ball in the third inning and limped along in pain, but was treated by Boone and a trainer.
But he remained in the game and said his nerves eased throughout the night.
The Yankees went through a period earlier this season where they rarely faced left-handed starting pitchers, but they have been on the receiving end of an onslaught of them recently.
As of Tuesday, they were hitting .235 against left-handed pitchers with an OPS of .699, about the same as league average.
“It’s an area where we have to work a little harder, but I feel like we can do it,” Boone said. “I think this week was a little tough, we were up against some good left-handed pitchers, and I don’t think that should be the trend or the norm going forward.”
—Additional reporting by Mark W. Sanchez
