Aaron Judge is experiencing a new personal best for his homerless streak.
His streak of not hitting a home run has now reached a career-high 16 games. This came as the New York Yankees won 2-1 against the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings on Thursday night.
Judge, who leads the league with 51 home runs and 126 RBIs, went 1 for 4 with a single in the game. He has been hitting .207 (12 for 58) with 21 strikeouts since August 26, the day after he hit two home runs against Colorado. Previously, Judge had a homerless streak of 15 games from August 17 to September 2 in 2017.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone commented, “Homers, even for guys like him, they still come in bunches and you’re going to have those stretches.” He added, “I guess it’s amazing that he has avoided those. But, I mean, that’s just a testament to how good of a hitter and how much power he has, but I thought he had good at-bats tonight and almost got one.”
During the game, Judge hit a ball in the first inning that Wilyer Abreu caught near the right-field wall and a 104.7 mph grounder that third baseman Rafael Devers stopped with a spinning play and turned into an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
Judge had hit nine home runs in 10 games before this current streak.
Pitcher Nestor Cortes said, “He’s getting base hits. He’s getting on base. He’s creating traffic.” He added, “The homers haven’t been there but I know they’ll come. He’s a big boy.”
Cortes also recalled Judge’s slow start. Through May 4, Judge was hitting .209 with six home runs, and he was ejected by umpire Ryan Blakney for swearing after a third strike call against Detroit.
Cortes said, “You guys saw what happened in April. He struggled a little bit and then he went on a tear. He probably needs to get thrown out again.”
