Turning Point: Resting Aaron Judge leads to postseason questions

The Yankees’ Game 162 this year was uneventful. Last year, in the bottom of the 9th inning, Aaron Judge drove a walk-off single up the middle to send the Yankees to the AL Wild Card Game. This year, the Yankees had already secured a bye. This game seemed notable only as the game that came after Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run.

Without Judge, the Yankees’ catchers managed to put two runs on the board. First Kyle Higashioka knocked in a run with an RBI single in the second inning, and Trevino (yesterday’s DH) followed his lead in the fourth inning with a solo home run. It was a good sign to see both Yankee catchers hitting well in the last season of the game, but as the Texas crowd’s cheers made it clear, everyone in the ballpark and at home was still interested in the American League’s new home run king.

Judge, Judge, Judge — after breaking the AL home run record, Aaron Judge took his first day off in over 40 games. While this game had no effect on the Yankees’ World Series ambitions, it was the last time we got to see the team perform before the playoff games that really matter.

With Aaron Judge on the bench, they lost. We know Judge will continue to play at an MVP level in the playoffs, but how will the rest of the team perform?

As was the case during his chase for 62 homers, teams will be pitching around Aaron Judge whenever they can. In the postseason, home runs win games. Pitching is more elite, and the odds of stringing together a bunch of base hits against an ace pitcher is less likely than getting lucky with a trip around the bases.

For the Yankees to win this postseason, they need to support Aaron Judge in two ways. One, they need to get on base for him. Every run counts in the postseason, and Judge’s propensity for solo home runs could hurt them if a Yankee pitcher has a bad day.

Second, they need to protect him. When Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton were out of the lineup with injuries, it seemed that Aaron Judge never received a fastball in the zone. It’s easy to walk Judge when you know the next few outs are guaranteed.

Although anything could change in the playoffs, last night’s performance showed signs of the Yankees accomplishing both of these points. In the doldrums of August this year, it seemed that nobody except Judge could get on base, leading many fans to question the Yankees’ chances in October. Last night, seven of the Yankees’ nine batters found ways to get on base. The Yankees’ bottom-of-the-lineup hitters such as Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Jose Trevino are all entering the postseason on hot streaks. Though they lost last night, these players have shown that they can create runs without the long ball.

On the second point, Stanton finally heated up in this series against Texas. In the two games he played, he went 2 for 5 with a home run, two RBIs, and three walks. The past two years have proven that Stanton is a force to be reckoned with in the postseason. The Yankees will undeniably need that this year against the winner of the Tampa Bay/Cleveland Wild Card Series.

Was it right to rest Aaron Judge in the last game?