New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge may yearn for the days when he was attempting to set a new American League single-season home run record.
As Mark W. Sanchez explained for the New York Post, Judge heard some boos from the Yankee Stadium faithful following his fourth strikeout in Friday's Game 2 of the ALDS that the Cleveland Guardians won 4-2 in 10 innings to even the series at 1-1:
Aaron Judge down swinging .. Golden Sombrero#Guardians 2 #Yankees 2 7th pic.twitter.com/dZLVQAIGEp
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) October 14, 2022
Outlets such as the Post and CBS Sports noted Judge has already tallied seven strikeouts and a walk over the series' first two games to continue his ongoing rough postseason stretch:
UPDATED:
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 14, 2022
Games 10
AVG .119
H-AB 5-42 https://t.co/UL186BkXvB
Guardians ace Shane Bieber and Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis previously vowed the underdogs would not pitch around Judge, and the strategy thus far has worked out well. Meanwhile, both Judge and Yankees manager Aaron Boone addressed the boos directed toward the uncrowned AL Most Valuable Player for the 2022 MLB regular season following Friday's defeat:
Aaron Boone on Aaron Judge hearing boos today:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 14, 2022
"It's The Bronx, man" pic.twitter.com/nxnSVkSfQn
Aaron Judge was asked about hearing a smattering of boos today:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 14, 2022
"I gotta play better, that's what it comes down to. Didn't do the job tonight." pic.twitter.com/QDXA7VrGDx
How will the Yankees respond to today's loss?
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) October 14, 2022
"Just like we have all year. We've had adversity throughout this whole long season on our way to winning the division. This isn't anything new to us. We've got the guys in this room to go out there and finish this job." - Aaron Judge pic.twitter.com/TAalZCaTi9
Things may not get any easier for the Yankees when the series moves to downtown Cleveland this weekend for Games 3 and 4, as the infamous midges from the fall of 2007 are expected to again impact things at Progressive Field.
The Guardians will host the Bronx Bombers on Saturday and Sunday. Game 5, if necessary, will take place back at Yankee Stadium on Monday.
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